感恩節這個聽著就讓人心里暖暖的節日，其實是源自美國。今天我們就來談談美國人是怎么過感恩節的。發現了好多自己形成已久的誤區啊。大家來和小編一起看看吧，說不定你原來想的也是不對的呢。
感恩節是要謝誰？
History
Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a time "to give thanks" for a plentiful harvest, because it is celebrated on the last Thursday of November at the end of the harvest season.
However, the history of Thanksgiving is not clear, because the harvest season is celebrated in many countries and cultures. Americans commonly celebrate the first harvest of the "pilgrims", or the first colonists to settle in North America, in 1621. Many colonists came to the New World for religious freedom, because England did not allow diversity in religion. Native Americans and colonists did not always live together peacefully, but they did learn from each other by trading goods and farming methods. So many people celebrate the first successful harvest of the colonists.
我們最初知道“感恩節”，是老師在課堂上講的關于“五月花號”（Mayflower）的故事。據說那時候不堪忍受英國國內宗教迫害的一群清教徒到達美洲。當時，美國的印第安人給移民送來了生活必需品，還特地派人教他們怎樣狩獵、捕魚和種植玉米、南瓜。于是，最初為了感謝美洲原住民，誕生了這么一個節日。
如今的原住民還是生活在美國各處，他們有自己的tribe，以及自己的tribal law，有些原住民也會走出自己祖先的土地和所有其他美國人一起讀書，不過一眼就能看出他們和美國人長得實在相差很多，是比較接近亞洲人的長相哦。
Thankfulness
Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a religious holiday, as a time to give thanks to God for the blessings in one's life. People can be thankful for things like their good health, the safety of their families, or having good friends. All of these things are called "blessings", or things that God has given us.
For Americans who are not religious, thankfulness is just a feeling of gratitude. It is easy to forget how lucky we are, so Thanksgiving is a time to be reminded of the priceless things in our lives. Many families talk about what they are thankful for as they are sitting around the dinner table before they start the meal.
一開始小編以為感恩節是用來感謝朋友，家人一年內對自己的照顧，原來人家是來感謝上帝的啊！外國朋友似乎也對于咱們的理解頗為詫異呢。
據外國朋友的描述，全家聚在一起坐在餐桌前，在正式開動之前，每個人會先說一番話來回顧自己這一年，遇到了哪些值得感謝的事情。其實有的時候，我們身邊從來不缺少值得感謝的事情，懷著一顆感恩的心面對每一天，生活也會變得溫暖陽光起來吧。
感恩節吃啥玩啥？
Family
Thanksgiving is usually celebrated by getting together with lots of family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. The meal is held in one family's home, and it is common for guests to bring drinks, snacks and desserts. Because Thanksgiving is close to Christmas, families can spend one holiday with the mother's family and the other holiday with the father's family. University students can invite boyfriends, girlfriends or friends whose families live too far away to come home with them for the holiday.
感恩節大家會上哪兒聚會呢？外國朋友說，感恩節才不是用來聚會的呢，是像咱的中秋元宵一樣的，全家團聚在一起吃飯的家庭大集會！在餐桌上，很多時候都能看到長得像蛋筒一樣的“cornucopia”，是專門用來放水果的，非常有特色吧。
不過和咱喜歡吃一頓豐盛的晚餐不一樣，美國人通常是把重頭戲放在午餐的時候。下午的時候就是全家一起看看電視聊聊天，或者去家里的backyard打打橄欖球之類的家族活動啦。
Food
The first image that comes to mind when people think about Thanksgiving is a big, fat turkey. Turkeys are indeed enormous; the average Thanksgiving turkey is 15 pounds, or 6.8 kilograms. (This means that people have to eat turkey sandwiches for weeks after Thanksgiving!) The meal, often held in the late afternoon, also includes mashed potatoes with gravy, bread rolls, stuffing (which can be cooked inside the turkey), cranberry sauce, sweet corn, and other seasonal vegetables like sweet potato and green beans. For dessert, pumpkin pie is most popular, although many families enjoy other kinds of pie as well, such as apple pie, pecan pie or blueberry pie.
當然啦，一說起感恩節，虎虎的腦中就浮現出一只鴕鳥大小的動物（火雞不是鴕鳥啊！）。好想吃火雞啊，嘴都饞了……不過說起來，為什么感恩節要吃火雞呢？一位外國美女告訴了小編一個簡單易懂的原因：因為……火雞多……這讓小編不由得想起，萬圣節感恩節都吃南瓜難道也是因為南瓜多么！）
此外，火雞在美國還被稱為“Tom Turkey”哦，因為據說公火雞的名字就叫做Tom……世上千千萬萬的Tom啊該是高興還是悲哀呢。
Activities
After the meal, families relax and spend time together, sometimes watching American football games or Thanksgiving Day parades on television. Thanksgiving is also a time to volunteer or donate your time and money to charities. As people reflect on the blessings in their lives, they are inspired to help those who may be going through difficult times. Many churches and community organizations hold free dinners where people volunteer to buy, cook and serve the food. People also organize "food drives" where canned and packaged food is donated, collected and given to those in need. Also, companies and organizations can hold charity events, where employees, friends and families can pay to attend a dinner or dance and all of the money is donated to a charity.
說起為何感恩節的聚餐會選擇放在中午，外國朋友告訴小編說，因為這時候正好是美國的football season啦，所以吃完午飯全家會坐在電視機前一起看球賽。
此外，在感恩節這天，很多教堂會組織聚會，志愿者們會準備烹飪食物，即使是那些并沒有宗教信仰的人，或者任何由于經濟原因沒有辦法歡度節日的人，都可以來到教堂，和所有人濟濟一堂共度這個節日哦。如此一來“志愿者”就是非常重要的一個組成部分了。在美國，如果你說自己沒有參加過志愿者活動的話，人家可能會偷偷地用BS的眼神看著你說“啊，這樣啊。”
最后要說的就是募捐（donation）啦，雖然在平時也會有各種募捐活動，但是感恩節這一天會格外地熱鬧呢。對于美國人來說，“thanksgiving”，相較于“thanks”，它的意義更大的是在“giving”上面。
相關閱讀
Thanksgiving Day 感恩節特輯
奧巴馬感恩節赦免火雞
Black Friday 感恩節后的“黑色星期五”
感恩節后購物季 欲進且退
（來源：滬江英語 編輯：Julie）
