美式感恩节面面观

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 reunion  s 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。