每逢感恩节这一天，美国举国上下热闹非常，基督徒按照习俗前往教堂做感恩祈祷，城市乡镇到处都有化装游行、戏剧表演或体育比赛等。分别了一年的亲人们也会从天南海北归来，一家人团圆，品尝以“火鸡”为主的感恩节美食。
【感恩节来源介绍】
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 settlers, or Pilgrims, they 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 at in icy November, what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. During their first winter, over half of the settlers died 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, 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.
Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a 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 get a consensus on the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird. Thanksgiving today is, in every sense, a national annual holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the year' s bounty and reverently ask for continued blessings.
【感恩节购物与黑色星期五】
感恩节购物已经成为了美国人的习俗。从感恩节到圣诞节这一个月，美国零售业总销售额能占到全年的1/3强，是各个商家传统的打折促销旺季。疯狂的购物月从感恩节的次日(星期五)开始，这一天即被称为Black Friday(黑色星期五)。
之所以叫这个名字，据说是因为周五这天一大早，所有人都要摸着黑冲到商场排队买便宜货，这种行为有个非常形象的说法，叫Early Bird(早起的鸟儿)。在外国“感恩节”和中国的春节一样重要!
每年一度的总统放生火鸡仪式始于1947年杜鲁门总统当政时期，但实际上这个传统仪式可以追溯到美国内战林肯总统当政的时期。
1863年的一天，林肯的儿子泰德突然闯入内阁会议请求赦免一只名叫杰克的宠物火鸡，因为这只被送进白宫的火鸡，即将成为人们的感恩节大餐。
2006年11月22日，布什在白宫玫瑰花园举行感恩节放生仪式上，特赦了一只名叫“飞鸟”的火鸡。
美国总统奥巴马25号特赦感恩节火鸡.并将火鸡被命名为“勇气”。这也是他上任以来，首次特赦火鸡。
奥巴马并对保护美国人民身家安全的英勇战士表示感恩。每年11月的第4个星期四是美国感恩节。
在女儿萨莎和玛丽亚的陪伴下，奥巴马特赦了本来要用做盘中餐的火鸡.奥巴马说，我原本打算吃掉这只火鸡。
由于萨莎和玛丽亚的干预，我赦免了“勇气”。这只火鸡将被送到迪士尼乐园。为防止意外，当局还准备了一只备用火鸡，名叫“卡罗琳娜”。
