Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November, which this year (2004) is November 25th. Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country.
In 1620, the Pilgrims sailed to America on the May flower, seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship. After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts on icy November day.
During their first winter, over half of the settlers ①died of starvation or epidemics. Those who survived began sowing in the first spring. All summer long they waited for the harvests with great anxiety, knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depended on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yield rich beyond expectations. And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed. Years later, the President of the United States proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day every year. The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has been observed on that date until today.
The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. On the dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnuts and grapes. There will be plum pudding, mince pie, other varieties of food and cranberry juice and squash. The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.
11月的最後一個星期四是感恩節，今年（2004年）的感恩節是11月25日。感恩節是美國國定假日中最地道的美國式節日，而且和美國早期歷史的聯繫最為密切。
1620年，一批清教徒乘坐「五月花」號漂洋過海，去尋求一個宗教自由的地方。他們在海上輾轉顛簸了兩個月之後，在酷寒的11月登上了陸地，登陸地位於現在的麻薩諸塞州普利茅斯市。
在那裡的第一個冬天，半數以上的移民都死於飢餓和傳染病。活下來的人開始在第一個春季裡播種。整個夏天他們都熱切地盼望著豐收的到來，他們深知自己的生存以及殖民地在今後是否能紮根都取決於即將到來的收成。最終，莊稼獲得了意外的大豐收。所以人們決定選一個日子來感謝上帝的恩賜。數年後，美國總統宣布每年11月的第四個星期四為感恩節。感恩節慶祝活動便定在這一天，這個習俗一直延續到今天。
感恩節的慶祝形式多年來從未改變。豐盛的家宴早在幾個月之前就開始著手準備。人們在餐桌上可以吃到蘋果、桔子、慄子、胡桃和葡萄。另外還備有葡萄乾布丁、肉餡餅、各種其它食物以及紅莓苔汁和鮮果汁。其中，最棒和最誘人的菜餚當屬烤火雞和南瓜餡餅。數年來，這些菜一直是感恩節中最傳統和最受人們喜愛的食品。
Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with bread dressing to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts. But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives, it is not easy to ②get a consensus on the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird.
Thanksgiving today is, ③in every sense, a national annual holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join to express their thanks for the year's bounty and reverently ask for continued blessings.
人們一致認為，感恩節大餐必須以烤火雞為主菜，而火雞在烘烤時要以麵包作填料以吸收在烘烤過程中流出來的美味汁液。但由於烹飪方法因家庭和地區的不同而各異，所以在究竟用什麼做火雞的填料上就難以求得一致。
今天的感恩節是一個不折不扣的國定假日，具有各種信仰和背景的美國人會在這一天對上蒼在今年的恩典表示感謝，虔誠地祈求上帝繼續賜福。
Thanksgiving Fare
Of all the Thanksgiving symbols the Turkey has become the most well known. The turkey has brown features with buff-colored feathers on the tips of the wing and on the tail. The male turkey is called a Tom and, as with most birds, is bigger and has brighter and more colorful plumage. The female is called a Hen and is generally smaller and drab in color.
The turkey was originally domesticated in Mexico, and was brought to Europe early in the 16th century. Since that time, turkeys have been extensively raised because of the excellent quality of their meat and eggs. Some of the common breeds of turkey in the United States are the Bronze, Narragansett, White Holland, and Bourbon Red.
Today there is such a large variety of food to choose from that a Thanksgiving Dinner can feature almost any main course. True, the traditional turkey is still the meat of choice, yet goose, duck, ham, even some of the sea's harvests can be used. In sweet potatoes, peas, rice dishes, greens, and even more exotic vegetables all ④make their way to this celebration of Thanksgiving and harvest.
The key to a Thanksgiving menu is to choose foods that will represent the idea of giving thanks for a good year and a harvesting of good fortune.
感恩節食品
在感恩節的所有象徵物中要數火雞最出名了。火雞全身長滿棕色羽毛，而翼端和尾部的羽毛則呈現淡黃色。雄性的火雞被稱為Tom，像大多數雄性禽鳥一樣，體型較大而且羽毛的顏色更加鮮亮豐富。雌性的火雞被稱為Hen，一般體型較小，顏色單一。
火雞最早是在墨西哥進行人工飼養的，在16世紀早期的時候被帶到了歐洲。從那以後，火雞就因其高品質的肉和蛋，被廣泛養殖。 「Bronze」，「Narragansett」，「White Holland」和「 Bourbon Red」是一些美國最常見的火雞飼養品種。
現在可供挑選的食品如此之多，以至於感恩節晚宴幾乎可以把任何一道菜作為主菜。可火雞肯定還是人們肉菜的首選，而鵝肉、鴨肉、火腿，甚至是一些海產品也可以被選用。豌豆、飯食類、青菜，甚至很多異域蔬菜，都可以取代甘薯作為慶祝感恩節和豐收的食品。在挑選感恩節大餐的食品時，關鍵是要看這些事物是否能表達對一年來的好運與豐收的感激之情。
Thanksgiving Day Parades
Thanksgiving Day Parades, though not specifically documented, probably got their start when President Lincoln proclaimed an official day of Thanksgiving. Given the Union achievements of the summer of 1863, it would have been logical that any official event declared by the President would have been accompanied by a show of military strength and discipline such as a full-dress parade. Elaborate floats, musical shows and entertainment celebrities have replaced the parades of armed and uniformed men marching in cadence or to a military band, but the desired effect, to lift the spirits of the spectators, remains the goal.
感恩節遊行
儘管沒有明文記載，但大概從林肯總統正式宣布感恩節為法定節日起，感恩節遊行活動便開始了。在1863年的夏天，聯邦軍隊獲得勝利後，似乎每個總統頒布的官方活動中，都應該有顯示軍隊實力和紀律的閱兵式，例如盛裝遊行。儘管全副武裝、身穿制服的軍人和著節奏或在軍樂隊伴奏下遊行的活動已被精美的彩車、音樂表演以及娛樂界名人所替代，但是要令觀眾精神為之一振的初衷從未改變。
tempestuous /tem`pestju9s/ adj.有暴風雨的
epidemic /,epi`demik/ n.流行病
yield /j1ld/ n.產量；收益
observe /9b`z/v/ vt.紀念；慶祝
walnut /`w5ln9t/ n.胡桃；胡桃木
dressing /`dresiM/ n.調味品；填料
bounty /`baunti/ n.施捨
fare /f-9/ n.食物
reverently /`rev9r9ntli/ adv.虔誠地
plumage /`pl6midE/ n.鳥類羽毛
drab /dr2b/ adj.單調的
domesticate /d9`mestikeit/ vt.飼養
exotic /iG`z4tik/ adj.外來的
elaborate /i`l2b9r9t/ adj.精心製作的
cadence /`keid9ns/ n.節奏
① died of 死於……（死於身體內部原因如：飢餓、悲傷等）
② get a consensus on 就……達成一致
③ in every sense 在各種意義上
④ make one's way to 一路前進
（責任編輯：賈志超）