感恩节由来中英对照

On the fourth Thursday in November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. The celebration is rooted in the ancient tradition of the harvest festival, but in the United States, it has taken a far greater significance. Although there are numerous regional claims as to where the first Thanksgiving was celebrated, the traditional observance stems from a celebration that took place in Massachusetts, in November, 1621. Those English settlers who celebrated that first Thanksgiving truly did have much for which to be thankful. Known today as the Pilgrims, these Christians were dissenters from the established English church.As part of their religious beliefs they observed Days of Fasting and Days of Thanksgiving in response to events they believed to be special acts of Providence.The end of a drought, or of a plague, might call for a day of Thanksgiving. Intent on setting up a community wherein they could live according to their own religious beliefs, they sailed out of England on a ship called the Mayflower in September 1620. One hundred and two would-be colonists and some 30 crew came ashore at Cape Cod on November 9th. Within a year, half of them were dead due to starvation, disease and the harsh weather conditions of that first winter. But the summer brought a good harvest, and in autumn, 53 Pilgrims sat down to a feast with 90 of their neighbors,Wampanoag Indians who had helped feed and safeguard them over their first year in the New World. Although the holiday had been observed in Virginia since the first permanent colony was founded in Jamestown in 1609, modern Thanksgiving was first officially established in all states in 1863, by a presidential proclamation of Abraham Lincoln. The observance was moved to the fourth week in November by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Thanksgiving began as a prayer of gratitude by emigrants who faced death, who nevertheless came through and endured. Today, for many Americans it is an occasion for gatherings of family and friends; a day to share a holiday meal with those who matter the most; and a day to give thanks for the many blessings of freedom.

11月的第4个周四是美国的感恩节。庆祝活动是植根于这个丰收性节日的古老传统之中的，但在美国，感恩节庆祝活动的重要性更加非比寻常。虽然关于第一次感恩节的庆祝地点有很多说法，但传统的庆祝活动起源于1621年11月马萨诸塞州的一次庆祝活动。庆祝第一次感恩节的英国移居者确实很需要感恩。如今的朝圣者也是曾经的基督教徒，他们曾被英国教会视为异见者。作为其宗教信仰的一部分，他们庆祝禁食日和感恩日，来响应他们眼中由于上帝的特殊举动所发生的事。旱灾或者瘟疫结束后，都需要庆祝感恩日。为了建立一个可以按自己的宗教信仰生活的社群，他们扬帆起航，乘坐五月花号船于1620年9月离开英格兰。102个自称是殖民者的人和近30个船员于11月9日抵达了科德角。其后一年间，其中一半人第一年的冬天就死于饥饿、疾病、严酷的天气情况。但是夏天就迎来了大丰收；秋天的时候，53名朝圣者欢聚一堂，与他们的90个邻居共享盛宴。他们的邻居是万帕诺亚格印第安人，这些印第安人曾在他们抵达新世界的第一年里给他们食物，保护他们。虽然感恩节自这第一个永久殖民于1609年在弗吉尼亚州成立以来，现代感恩节就于1863年被林肯总统宣布确认为美国各州的正式节日。感恩节一开始是那些在生死边缘挣扎的移民所做的感恩祈祷，他们最终都挺过来了。后来，又被罗斯福总统挪到了11月的第四个周来庆祝。如今，对很多美国人而言，感恩节是家庭朋友欢聚的场合；是与最重要的人共享节日盛宴的一天；是感恩自由庇护的一天。