American Thanksgiving Day 美国感恩节

American Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American national Holidays in the United States and is closely connected with the earliest history of the country. In1620, the settlers or Pilgrims sailed to America on the Mayflower to seek a place where they could have freedom of worship. After 2 months' hard voyage they landed at Plymouth Colony, now in the Massachusetts and settled down. However, in the first winter, because of cold,food shortage,infectious diseases and extreme tiredness, more than half of the Pilgrims were dead. The following spring the kind Iroquois Indians taught them how to grow corn and how to hunt and fish. In the autumn of 1621, bountiful crops of corn, barley, beans and pumpkins were harvested. And therefor it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed. Years later, President of the United States proclaimed the forth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day every year. The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has been observed on that date until today.

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 blessing.

Thanksgiving Day parades are held in some cities and towns on or around Thanksgiving Day. Some parades or festivities also mark the opening of the Chrismas shopping season. Many football games are played and watching them is a popular activity. Some people have a four-day weekend so it is popular time for trips out of

town and to visit friends and family.

Then families and groups of friends will get together for a large meal. This often consists of a turkey, stuffing, different types of potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy and maize and other seasonal vegetables. Roast turkey Thanksgiving is the traditional main course, usually in the stomach stuffed with turkey and all kinds of spices Banhao food, and then a whole grilled by the host with a knife and cut into thin slices to the people. Roast turkey in time to fill in for bread to absorb the flow from out of the delicious juice, cooking skills and family often differ, what will be difficult to achieve the same packing. The meal also often includes pumpkin pie. Many of these foods are native to the Americas and were not available in Europe at the time of the first settlers. This adds to their symbolism of giving thanks for a good harvest in a new country.

After Thanksgiving dinner, people will do some traditional games, for example, pumpkin run is competing to run with a teaspoon of pumpkin, the rules are that they can not touch the pumpkins by hands and the first one arriving is the winner. Besides, people also celebrate the holiday by traveling. They drive to countryside to have a picnic or take an airport to foreign. People would like to visit Massachusetts to see the model of Mayflower.