西方一年一度的感恩节是一个传达祝福与感恩的节日。对于中国人来说，感恩节意味着火鸡大餐。而实际上，西方还有许多特别的感恩节习俗。下面就来了解一下吧!
【GATHERING TOGETHERAND HELPING OUT欢聚与相助】
Many Thanksgiving traditions come from that 1621 harvest celebration. Sheavesof wheat or corn are often used as decorations. Roast turkey, cranberry sauce,sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie are commonly served at Thanksgiving dinner. Butas the U.S. population becomes more diverse, so does the Thanksgiving meal.Nowadays, sitting next to the turkey might be a dish of tamales, tabbouleh,couscous or sauerkraut.
许多感恩节传统始于1621年的丰收庆典。人们通常用一捆捆的小麦或玉米作节日装饰。烤火鸡、越橘浆、红薯和南瓜攀都是感恩节晚餐常见的食物。随着美国人口的日益多样性，感恩节大餐的内容也更丰富多样。如今，摆在火鸡旁的可能是一盘玉米粉蒸肉(tamales)、塔博勒色拉(tabbouleh)、蒸粗麦粉(couscous)或泡菜(sauerkraut)。
Colleges serve a special meal for students remaining on campus duringThanksgiving, and international students are often invited to shareThanksgiving with local families. U.S. troops stationed overseas are served aThanksgiving meal. When Americans at home sit down at the table and givethanks, they often express gratitude for their freedom and the sacrifices madeto preserve it.
美国各大学在感恩节时会为在校学生提供一顿特殊的餐饭。通常外国学生还会受邀与当地家庭共渡感恩节。美国驻扎在海外的军人也能享有一顿感恩节大餐。能够在家里欢聚一堂的美国人在表示感恩时，通常会为自己的自由以及为捍卫自由而作出牺牲的人们表达感激之情。
Many people prepare Thanksgiving meals and serve them to the needy. Othersdonate to food drives, work at food warehouses or deliver groceries to soupkitchens, churches and other charitable groups.
在这一天到来的时候，不少人会参加准备感恩节大餐的工作，向有需要的人供餐。还有些人支持食品捐助活动，到食品仓库干活，或向公益厨房、教堂和其他慈善组织运送食品。
Thanksgiving is the busiest travel period of the year because families make aspecial effort to be together. Some favorite pastimes include watchingtelevision coverage of the annual Macy’s Department Store parade in New Yorkand of American football games played around the country. The day afterThanksgiving marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, an importanttime for U.S. retailers.
感恩节是一年中旅行最繁忙的时期。许多家庭会想一切办法举家团聚。人们喜爱的一些娱乐活动有，观看电视直播纽约市(New York)每年一度梅西百货商店(Macy’s Department Store)的大游行以及全国各地举行的美式足球比赛。感恩节后第二天意味着圣诞购物季节的开始，这对美国零售商来说是一个重要的促销季节。
One whimsical Thanksgiving tradition is the annual “pardoning” of a turkey bythe U.S. president, who spares the bird from the dinner table. The bird goes onto live out its life at a petting zoo.
感恩节还有一个有趣的传统。美国总统每年会“赦免”(pardoning)一只火鸡，这只火鸡可在宠物园度过余生，免遭成为盘中餐的命运。
【感恩节文化面面观】
when it comes to thanksgiving, turkey may be the first thing that comes to mind. it’s the right picture, but it’s not complete.
提到感恩节，你首先会想到的可能是火鸡。尽管火鸡大餐是感恩节的重头戏，但并不能全权代表这一节日。
celebrated on the fourth thursday of november every year, nov 28 this year, thanksgiving day is a time for communal thanksgiving and lavish feasts. it’s about expressing your gratitude to the important people and all the good things in your life.
每年11月的第四个星期四是感恩节，今年是11月28日。感恩节是一个全民感恩、享用盛宴的时刻。在这一天，你要向生命中最重要的人、最美好的事物表达感恩之情。
americans celebrate thanksgiving with much fervor and maintain many traditional customs. here we introduce a few of the rituals americans typically follow on this day.
美国人十分看重感恩节，并传承了许多传统风俗。下面，就来为大家介绍一些美国人庆祝感恩节的传统风俗。
time for prayers and paying back祝福与感恩的时刻
thanksgiving day has been associated with communal prayers in church and in homes for centuries. attending church prayer services in the morning is the first step of many celebrators on thanksgiving day. the churches provide worship services and organize special events for the occasion.
数百年来，每到感恩节人们都会聚集在教堂或家里祈祷。早晨去教堂参加祷告仪式是许多人庆祝感恩节的第一个节目。教堂会举行礼拜仪式并组织感恩节特别活动。
before thanksgiving meals, some families gather together and read prayers to thank god for his kindness and the gifts he has bestowed upon them in the form of friends and family.
在享用感恩节大餐前，有的家庭会齐聚一堂向上帝祷告，感谢它的仁慈，感谢它恩赐给我们家人与朋友。
some people also do voluntary community work on this day, as a way of paying back.
还有一些人选择在这一天去做社区义工，以示感恩。
family reunions and showing gratitude团圆与感恩
like china’s spring festival, preparing a big meal and bringing the family together at home is a long-standing tradition of thanksgiving. distances don’t really matter as relatives return home to be with their family, no matter how far away.
和中国的春节一样，准备大餐和举家团聚是感恩节的悠久传统。距离不是问题，无论多远，亲人们都会赶回家与家人团聚。
undoubtedly, turkey is the main course of thanksgiving dinner. though there is no evidence to prove that turkey was eaten during the first thanksgiving dinner, most agree that the dinner would be incomplete without it. a survey conducted by the us’ national turkey federation in 2012 shows that 91 percent of americans eat turkey and more than 306 million kilograms of turkey are consumed on thanksgiving day.
毫无疑问，火鸡是这顿节日大餐的重头戏。尽管尚无证据表明第一顿感恩节的餐桌上是否有火鸡的踪影，但大多数人都赞同没有火鸡的感恩节大餐是不完整的。根据美国国家火鸡联盟2012年的调查数据显示，在感恩节这一天，91%的美国家庭都会享用火鸡，总量超过3.06亿公斤。
other dishes typically found on dinner tables in almost every house are pumpkin pies, corn, fall vegetables, olives, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mashed potatoes. at the meal, many families observe the ritual of taking turns to express what each member is thankful for.
家家户户餐桌上常见的菜品还有南瓜派、玉米、秋季时令蔬菜、橄榄、蔓越莓果酱、火鸡填料和土豆泥。餐桌上，很多家庭会遵守一项惯例：轮流向每位家庭成员表达感谢。
parades bring nation together全民狂欢
while feasts make thanksgiving a festival for individual families, parades make it a carnival for the whole nation. various parades are held in many cities to honor thanksgiving. one of the largest is new york’s thanksgiving day parade, which is currently called macy’s thanksgiving day parade. started in 1924, more than 2 million people attend the parade every year.
团圆饭让感恩节成为所有家庭的节日，而游行则让感恩节变成全民的狂欢。许多城市都会举办各式各样的感恩节游行活动。其中规模最盛大的就要数纽约感恩节大游行，也就是现在人们口中的梅西感恩节大游行。它始于1924年，每年有超过200万人参与其中。
important features of the parade are themed floats, scenes from broadway plays, large balloons of cartoon characters and tv personalities, and high school marching bands. the parade traditionally ends with a santa claus float, which marks the unofficial beginning of the christmas season.
这场游行的亮点包括主题花车、百老汇戏剧场景再现、印有卡通人物或电视明星的巨大气球和高中军乐队。整场游行会以圣诞老人花车作为压轴表演，以此非正式地宣告圣诞季的开始。
football games as a highlight of the day橄榄球比赛成为节日亮点
after-dinner rituals are just as important as the meal itself, and no after-dinner ritual is more important than the football game. the us’ national football league has played a special game on thanksgiving every year since its creation in 1920 (with the exception of 1939-1944 due to world war ii). it’s referred to as the thanksgiving classic, and thousands of fans watch it with popcorn and chips in hand, either in stadiums or on television.
餐后习俗同节日大餐一样重要，而橄榄球比赛便是餐后的一道最重要的“大餐”。美国国家橄榄球联盟自1920年成立以来每年都会举行感恩节专场比赛(1939年至1944年由于二战中断)。该赛事被奉为“感恩节经典”，成千上万的球迷手捧薯条和爆米花在现场或电视上观看这场比赛。
in 1863, a reporter jokingly said, “thanksgiving is a holiday granted by the nation to see a game of football.” it’s absolutely true.
1863年，有记者曾开玩笑说：“感恩节是国家授权观看橄榄球赛事的节日。”这话千真万确。
big day of discounts疯狂打折日
while chinese citizens enjoy an online shopping spree on nov 11, americans flock to physical stores just after thanksgiving. the friday after thanksgiving day is famously known as “black friday” because of the standard accounting practice of writing profits in black.
中国网民有“双十一”购物狂潮，而美国人会在感恩节过后蜂拥到实体店血拼。感恩节之后的周五便是著名的“黑色星期五”了，这一天得名于会计用黑色墨水记录盈利的传统。
many employers give their employees the day off as part of the thanksgiving holiday weekend, so retailers seize the opportunity to offer discounts and put items on sale. hundreds of thousands of people take advantage of the opportunity to hunt for bargains. the sight of people waiting in long lines for shops to open on the morning after thanksgiving day is quite normal.
许多老板会在这一天给员工放假，作为感恩节周末假日的一部分。而商家自然要抓住这一机会进行打折促销。无数消费者则看准了时机抢购打折商品。感恩节过后，人们一大早大排长龙等待店铺开门的场景随处可见。
