感恩节

11月的第四个星期四是感恩节。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。 AUgLearn chinese in shanghai,Learn mandarin, Mandaringarden
感恩节的由来要一直追溯到美国历史的发端。1620年，著名的“五月花”号船满载不堪忍受英国国内宗教迫害的清教徒102人到达美洲。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，活下来的移民只有50来人。这时，心地善良的印第安人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。 AUgLearn chinese in shanghai,Learn mandarin, Mandaringarden
在第一个感恩节的这一天，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交、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。 AUgLearn chinese in shanghai,Learn mandarin, Mandaringarden
初时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。 AUgLearn chinese in shanghai,Learn mandarin, Mandaringarden
每逢感恩节这一天，美国举国上下热闹非常，人们按照习俗前往教堂做感恩祈祷，城乡市镇到处都有化装游行、戏剧表演或体育比赛等。劳燕分飞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。 AUgLearn chinese in shanghai,Learn mandarin, Mandaringarden
感恩节的食品富有传统特色。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。此外，感恩节的传统食品还有甜山芋、玉蜀黍、南瓜饼、红莓苔子果酱等。 AUgLearn chinese in shanghai,Learn mandarin, Mandaringarden
感恩节宴会后，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。 AUgLearn chinese in shanghai,Learn mandarin, Mandaringarden
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还是在风光旖旎的夏威夷，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。

Thanksgiving Day

The earliest observance of Thanksgiving on this continent was with special services in Virginia as early as 1607. The first Thanksgiving Festival began on December 13th in 1621 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It started as a harvest festival with the people thanking God for giving them sufficient crops. That first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days with the people enthusiastically participating.

On June 20, 1676 the town of Charlestown, Massachusetts issued the First Thanksgiving Proclamation. By unanimous vote the governing council instructed the clerk, Edward Rawson, to proclaim June 29th as a day of thanksgiving.

George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, the year of his inauguration as President of the United States of America. He called for another Thanksgiving Day in 1795. With other presidents and state governors proclaiming days of thanksgiving at various times there was no effort to organize a yearly Thanksgiving Day until Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale started her crusade in 1827. It took thirty-six years to achieve victory when, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made his Thanksgiving Day Proclamation. The nation has celebrated the special day ever since.

Today Thanksgiving Day is a legal holiday with most government and private employees being given the day off. Some companies and most schools also shut down the following Friday. Yes, the United States of America, for most purposes, observes Thanksgiving Day.

But, it appears that Thanksgiving Day, like most other national and religious holidays, has been highly commercialized, to the point that many people forget what we are supposed to be celebrating. If we were to survey people on the street and ask, "What stands out in your mind when you think of Thanksgiving Day", we would probably get answers like:turkey, dinner, pilgrims, fall, pumpkins, corn stalks, etc.

But, how many people on Thanksgiving Day actually pause and do what the name of the event suggests? What portion of the celebrators do stop to thank God for our nation and for all we have?

Psalm 105:1 commands us, "Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done."

As we approach Thanksgiving Day, let's not focus on the food, which are gifts. Let's focus on the giver. Let's thank God for all He has provided. Let's call on His name and invite Him to be present at our table. Let's celebrate Thanksgiving Day with grateful hearts.

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