1122周四Culture: Thanksgiving感恩节的那些事

Thanksgiving is a harvest festival celebrated in the USA and Canada, though American Thanksgiving and Canadian Thanksgiving are on different days. Americans celebrate it on the fourth Thursday in November, and Canadians celebrate it on the second Monday in October.

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Thanksgiving started when Europeans coming to North America wanted to give thanks after they learned how to survive on the new continent. It’s not clear exactly when and why the first Thanksgiving was held, but European Christians in North America started celebrating Thanksgiving sometime in the early 1600s.�

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Many cultures around the world have festivals at harvest time, and the North American version focuses on family, big feasts, and North American foods that early settlers were discovering.

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感恩节是一个美国和加拿大的收获节，虽然美国和加拿大的感恩节是在不同的日子。美国的是11月份的第四个周四，加拿大的是10月份的第二个周一。

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感恩节的起点在于欧洲人来到北美洲。他们终于发现如何生存下去以后，就用了这个日子表达感恩。虽然我们不知道所谓的“第一个感恩节”具体是什么时候在什么地方，但是在北美洲的欧洲基督徒大概在17世纪的前部分就开始过感恩节了。

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全世界很多不同文化里面都有自己的收获节。这个北美洲的收获节日就以家庭、大餐、和当时欧洲人在美国发现的新食物为重点。

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Thanksgiving celebrations in the USA are loosely based on a special meal in 1621, where European settlers and Native Americans ate together, so the most traditional way to celebrate is to have a big meal with your family. Thanksgiving foods are all foods that settlers didn’t have in Europe, but found when they came to North America – turkey, pumpkin, squash, and more. Turkey is such a big part of Thanksgiving that some people call Thanksgiving “Turkey Day.”

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美国的感恩节的庆祝方法以1621年的一个特殊宴会为基础，就是欧洲来的殖民者跟印第安人一起吃了一顿大餐，庆祝收获季节。所以到现在，美国感恩节最主要的环节是跟家人一起吃一顿大餐。感恩节传统食物都是欧洲人来到美国之前不知道的食物，比如说火鸡、南瓜和各种其他的瓜，和其他的。火鸡对感恩节非常关键，甚至很多人会把感恩节叫作“火鸡节”。

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Even though eating is the most important Thanksgiving activity, there are a few other popular things to do on Thanksgiving. Families travel to be together and spend time at home, so there are lots of special TV shows and American football games for them to watch. Big cities sometimes have parades. In smaller cities, there might be carnival games for kids to play. Some people even share the Thanksgiving spirit by donating food to charity, so that everyone can have a good Thanksgiving meal.

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虽然吃饭是感恩节最重要的环节，还有另一些感恩节活动。很多家庭会团聚在家里面，所以电视上会有很多特殊节目和运动会，尤其是美国橄榄球。大城市有时候会做游行。小城市可能会举行嘉年华之类的活动。还有一些人，为了确保所有人民都能够吃个感恩节大餐，所以会做一些公益项目，送很多吃的东西给到一些没钱的家庭。

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What are you thankful for?

你为了什么事情而感到感恩？