The Pilgrims, shown here celebrating their first Thanksgiving, werea group of Puritans who landed at Plymouth Rock, in what is nowMassachusetts, United States, in 1620. In 1621 Governor WilliamBradford of New England proclaimed a day of "thanksgiving" and prayerto celebrate the Pilgrims' first harvest in America. United Statespresident Abraham Lincoln, following the precedent of a number ofstates, designated a national Thanksgiving Day in 1863. NowThanksgiving Day falls annually on the fourth Thursday of November.
About Thanksgiving Day
I Introduction
Thanksgiving Day, legal holiday observed annually in the UnitedStates on the fourth Thursday of November. In Canada, Thanksgivingfalls on the second Monday in October. Its origin probably traces toharvest festivals that have been traditional in many parts of the worldsince ancient times (see Festivals and Feasts). Today Thanksgiving ismainly a celebration of domestic life, centered on the home and family.Most people celebrate Thanksgiving by gathering with family or friendsfor a holiday feast.
II Customs and Symbols
Public observances of Thanksgiving usually emphasize theholiday's connection with the Pilgrims. Thanksgiving pageants andparades often feature children dressed in Pilgrim costume, completewith bonnets or tall hats, dark clothes, and shoes with largesilver-colored buckles.Many of the images commonly associated withThanksgiving are derived from much older traditions of celebrating theautumn harvest. For example, the cornucopia (a horn-shaped basketoverflowing with fruits and vegetables) is a typical emblem ofThanksgiving abundance that dates to ancient harvest festivals. Manycommunities also decorate their churches with fruits, flowers, andvegetables at Thanksgiving, much as European communities have forcenturies during the autumn harvest season.
In keeping with the idea of celebrating a plentiful harvest,preparing and eating a large meal is a central part of mostThanksgiving celebrations. Thanksgiving menus usually include turkey,bread-crumb stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash, mashed potatoes, sweetpotatoes, and pumpkin pie. These simple foods recall the rustic virtuesof the Pilgrims. Additionally, most of these foods are native to NorthAmerica, emphasizing the natural bounty that greeted early settlers intheir adopted homeland. Later groups of immigrants to North Americaoften adapted the traditional holiday menu to fit their own tastes. Forexample, many Italian American Thanksgiving meals include Italianspecialties, such as pasta and wine.
Many Americans digest their holiday meal while watching footballgames on television. Traditionally, two National Football League (NFL)teams, the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys, host games onThanksgiving Day. High viewership of these holiday games has madefootball an American Thanksgiving tradition.
III Origins
Long before Europeans settled in North America, western Europeansobserved Harvest Home festivals to celebrate the successful completionof gathering-in the season's crops. In the British Isles, Lammas Day(Loaf Mass Day), observed on August 1, was often held to celebrate agood wheat harvest. If the wheat crop was disappointing, the holidaywas usually canceled.Another important precursor to the modernThanksgiving holiday was the custom among English Puritans (seePuritanism) of designating special days of thanksgiving to expressgratitude for God's blessings. These observances were not heldregularly; they usually took place only in times of crisis orimmediately after a period of misfortune had passed. Puritanthanksgiving ceremonies were serious religious occasions and bore onlya passing resemblance to modern Thanksgiving celebrations.
IV American Thanksgivings
Although there is record of earlier thanksgiving celebrations(most notably in 1619 at Berkeley Plantation, Virginia), Americanstrace their traditional Thanksgiving holiday to one celebrated in 1621.This celebration was held at the Plymouth Colony, now in the state ofMassachusetts. The English Pilgrims who had founded the colony markedthe occasion by feasting with Native American guests―members of theWampanoag tribe―who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill.Although this event was an important part of American colonial history,there is no evidence that any of the participants thought of the feastas a thanksgiving celebration. Two years later, during a period ofdrought, a day of fasting and prayer was changed to one of thanksgivingbecause rains came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailedamong New Englanders to annually celebrate Thanksgiving after theharvest.Colonial governments and, later, state governments took up thePuritan custom of designating thanksgiving days to commemorate variouspublic events. Gradually the tradition of holding annual thanksgivingholidays spread throughout New England and into other states. Duringthe American Revolution (1775-1783) the Continental Congress proclaimeda national day of thanksgiving following the American victory at theBattle of Saratoga in 1777. U.S. president George Washington proclaimedanother day of thanksgiving in 1789 in honor of the ratification of theConstitution of the United States. In 1817 New York State adoptedThanksgiving Day as an annual custom, and many other states soon didthe same. Most of the state celebrations were held in November, but notalways on the same day.
In the mid-19th century Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's LadiesBook, led a movement to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday.In 1863, during the American Civil War (1861-1865), President AbrahamLincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving Dayin order to bolster the Union's morale. After the war, Congressestablished Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but widespread nationalobservance caught on only gradually. Many Southerners saw the newholiday as an attempt to impose Northern customs on them. However, inthe late 19th century Thanksgiving's emphasis on home and familyappealed to many people throughout the United States. As a distinctlyAmerican holiday, Thanksgiving was also considered an introduction toAmerican values for the millions of immigrants then entering thecountry.
During the 20th century, as the population of the United Statesbecame increasingly urban, new Thanksgiving traditions emerged thatcatered to city dwellers. The day after Thanksgiving gradually becameknown as the first day of the Christmas shopping season. To attractcustomers, large retailers such as Macy's in New York City and Gimbel'sin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began to sponsor lavish parades. By 1934the Macy's parade, featuring richly decorated floats and giganticballoons, attracted more than one million spectators annually.
The custom of watching football games on Thanksgiving Day alsoevolved during the early decades of the 20th century. As footballbecame increasingly popular in the 1920s and 1930s, many people beganto enjoy the holiday at a football stadium. Teams in the NationalFootball League eventually established the tradition of playingnationally televised games on Thanksgiving afternoon.
In 1939 U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt shifted the day ofThanksgiving from the last Thursday in November to one week earlier.Retail merchants had petitioned the president to make the change toallow for an extra week of shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas.Many Americans objected to the change in their holiday customs andcontinued to celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of the month.Roosevelt's political opponents in Congress also opposed the break withtradition and dubbed the early holiday "Franksgiving." In May 1941Roosevelt admitted that he had made a mistake and signed a bill thatestablished the fourth Thursday of November as the nationalThanksgiving holiday, which it has been ever since.
Thanksgiving is also a legal holiday in Canada. Because Canada isnorth of the United States, its harvest comes earlier in the year.Accordingly, the Thanksgiving holiday falls earlier in Canada than inthe United States. The Canadian Parliament set aside November 6 forannual Thanksgiving observances in 1879. In 1957 the date was shiftedto an even earlier day, the second Monday in October.
二、感恩节（中文版）
每年11月的第四个星期四(the fourth Thursday in November)是美国的感恩节(Thanksgiving Day)。感恩节是美国人民独创的一个古老节日，也是美国人合家欢聚的节日，因此美国人提起感恩节总是倍感亲切。
感恩节的由来要一直追溯到美国历史(American history)的发端。1620年，著名的"五月花(theMayflower)"号船满载不堪忍受英国国内宗教迫害的清教徒(thepilgrims)102人到达美洲(America)。1620年和1621年之交的冬天，他们遇到了难以想象的困难，处在饥寒交迫之中，冬天过去时，活下来的移民(settlers)只有50多人。这时，心地善良的印第安人(theIndians)给移民送来了生活必需品，还特地派人教他们怎样狩猎、捕鱼和种植玉米、南瓜。在印第安人的帮助下，移民们终于获得了丰收，在欢庆丰收的日子，按照宗教传统习俗，移民规定了感谢上帝的日子，并决定为感谢印第安人的真诚帮助，邀请他们一同庆祝节日。在第一个感恩节的第一天，印第安人和移民欢聚一堂，他们在黎明时鸣放礼炮，列队走进一间用作教堂的屋子，虔诚地向上帝表达谢意，然后点起篝火举行盛大宴会。第二天和第三天又举行了摔跤、赛跑、唱歌、跳舞等活动。第一个感恩节非常成功。其中许多庆祝方式流传了300多年，一直保留到今天。最初感恩节没有固定日期，由各州临时决定，直到美国独立后，感恩节才成为全国性的节日。 1863年，林肯总统(PresidentLincoln)把感恩节定为法定假日。到1941年， 美国国会(Congress of the UnitedStates)通过一项法令，把感恩节定在每年十一月的第四个星期四。每逢感恩节这一天，美国举国上下热闹非凡，人们按照习俗前往教堂(church)做感恩祈祷，城乡市镇到处都有化装游行、戏剧表演或体育比赛等。分开了一年的亲人们也会从天南海北归来，一家人团团圆圆，品尝美味的感恩节火鸡。
感恩节的食品富有传统特色。其中最吸引人的大菜是烤火鸡(roast turkey)和南瓜馅饼(pumpkinpie)。烤火鸡是感恩节的传统主菜，通常是把火鸡肚子里塞上各种调料和拌好的食品，然后整只烤出，由男主人用刀切成薄片分给大家。火鸡在烘烤时要以面包作填料以吸收从中流出来的美味汁液，但烹饪技艺常因家庭和地区的不同而各异，应用什么填料也就很难求得一致。此外，人们在餐桌上还可以吃到苹果(apple)、桔子(orange)、栗子(chestnut)、胡桃(walnut)和葡萄(grape),以及碎肉馅饼(mincepie)、小红莓酱(cranberry sauce)等。 感恩节宴会(Thanksgivingdinner)后，人们有时会做些传统游戏，比如南瓜赛跑是比赛者用一把小勺推着南瓜跑，规则是不能用手碰南瓜，先到终点者获胜。比赛用的勺子越小，游戏就越有意思。 多少年来，庆祝感恩节的习俗代代相传，无论在岩石嶙峋的西海岸(WestCoast)，还是在风光旖旎的夏威夷(Hawaii)，人们几乎在以同样的方式欢度感恩节，感恩节是不论何种信仰、何种民族的美国人都庆祝的传统节日。
三、感恩节（英汉互译版)
In 1620, the settlers, or Pilgrims, they sailed to America on theMay flower, seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship.After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed at in icy November,what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts.
During their first winter, over half of the settlers died of[1]starvation or epidemics. Those who survived began sowing in the firstspring.
All summer long they waited for the harvests with great anxiety,knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colonydepended on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yieldrich beyond expectations. And therefore it was decided that a day ofthanksgiving to the Lord be fixed[2]. Years later, President of theUnited States proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November asThanksgiving Day every year. The celebration of Thanksgiving Day hasbeen observed on that date until today.
The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changedthrough the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. Onthe dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnutsand grapes. There will be plum pudding, mince pie, other varieties offood and cranberry juice and squash. The best and most attractive amongthem are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the mosttraditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.
Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffedwith a bread dressing[3] to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts. Butas cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives,it is not easy to get a consensus on[4] the precise kind of stuffingfor the royal bird.
Thanksgiving today is, in every sense, a national annual holiday onwhich Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express theirthanks for the year' s bounty and reverently ask for continued[5]blessings.
感恩节是美国国定假日中最地道、最美国式的节日，而且它和早期美国历史最为密切相关。
1620年，一些朝圣者（或称为清教徒）乘坐"五月花"号船去美国寻求宗教自由。他们在海上颠簸折腾了两个月之后，终于在酷寒的十一月里，在现在的马萨诸塞州的普里茅斯登陆。
在第一个冬天，半数以上的移民都死于饥饿和传染病，活下来的人们在第一个春季开始播种。整个夏天他们都热切地盼望着丰收的到来，他们深知自己的生存以及殖民地的存在与否都将取决于即将到来的收成。后来，庄稼获得了意外的丰收，所以大家决定要选一个日子来感谢上帝的恩典。多年以后，美国总统宣布每年十一月的第四个星期四为感恩节。感恩节庆祝活动便定在这一天，直到如今。
感恩节庆祝模式许多年来从未改变。丰盛的家宴早在几个月之前就开始着手准备。人们在餐桌上可以吃到苹果、桔子、栗子、胡桃和葡萄，还有葡萄干布丁、碎肉馅饼、各种其它食物以及红莓苔汁和鲜果汁，其中最妙和最吸引人的大菜是烤火鸡和番瓜馅饼，这些菜一直是感恩节中最富于传统意义和最受人喜爱的食品。
人人都赞成感恩节大餐必需以烤火鸡为主菜。火鸡在烘烤时要以面包作填料以吸收从中流出来的美味汁液，但烹饪技艺常因家庭和地区的不同而各异，应用什幺填料也就很难求得一致。
今天的感恩节是一个不折不扣的国定假日。在这一天，具有各种信仰和各种背景的美国人，共同为他们一年来所受到的上苍的恩典表示感谢，虔诚地祈求上帝继续赐福。
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
注释：
1. died of：死于…… 当死于身体内部原因的，die后面要接介词of，如：饥饿（starvation）、悲伤（sadness）等；当死于外因时则要用die from，比如死于受伤（wound）.
2. it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed：decide可是个让你省事儿的好词了。它后面如果接从句，往往接虚拟语气。所以看见decide后面的从句，你就可以大胆地用动词（should）+"原形""啦！
3. dressing：调味品、填料。这里的dressing可不是穿的呀，a bread dressing可不是"面包衣服"！和bread在一起，dressing自然就是吃的啦！它是"调味品"的意思，"穿"在食物的身上了.
4. consensus on：就……达成一致。注：consensus后面的介词要用on，而不用about。
5. continued：继续的。这里的continued看似动词continue的过去式，但它却是有自己的含义的，它是形容词"继续的"意思。这样continued blessings就是上帝"继续的赐福"了
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment