一年一度的感恩節(jié)就要來臨啦！這個非常傳統(tǒng)的美國節(jié)日究竟是怎么來的呢，所謂的“感恩”是要感謝誰，大家在這一天會做些啥，吃些啥。遠在大洋彼岸的虎虎完全不知道啊~于是就好好請教了Alison一番，發(fā)現(xiàn)自己以前的認識中有好多誤區(qū)哇，今天拿來和大家一起分享一下！

?? History

Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a time “to give thanks” for a plentiful harvest, because it is celebrated on the last Thursday of November at the end of the harvest season.

However, the history of Thanksgiving is not clear, because the harvest season is celebrated in many countries and cultures. Americans commonly celebrate the first harvest of the “pilgrims”, or the first colonists to settle in North America, in 1621. Many colonists came to the New World for religious freedom, because England did not allow diversity in religion. Native Americans and colonists did not always live together peacefully, but they did learn from each other by trading goods and farming methods. So many people celebrate the first successful harvest of the colonists.

虎虎最初知道“感恩節(jié)”，是老師在課堂上講的關于“五月花號”（Mayflower）的故事。據(jù)說那時候不堪忍受英國國內宗教迫害的一群清教徒到達美洲。大家在上圖中看到的這群“火雞”頭上戴的貌似就是清教徒特有的帽子（pilgrim hat）了。當時，美國的印第安人給移民送來了生活必需品，還特地派人教他們怎樣狩獵、捕魚和種植玉米、南瓜。于是，最初為了感謝美洲原住民，誕生了這么一個節(jié)日。

虎虎聽Alison說，如今的原住民還是生活在美國各處，他們有自己的tribe，以及自己的tribal law，有些原住民也會走出自己祖先的土地和所有其他美國人一起讀書，不過一眼就能看出他們和美國人長得實在相差很多，是比較接近亞洲人的長相哦（表示米有看到過活生生的印第安人……虎虎只能自己腦內一下……）。

?? Thankfulness

Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a religious holiday, as a time to give thanks to God for the blessings in one’s life. People can be thankful for things like their good health, the safety of their families, or having good friends. All of these things are called ‘blessings’, or things that God has given us.

For Americans who are not religious, thankfulness is just a feeling of gratitude. It is easy to forget how lucky we are, so Thanksgiving is a time to be reminded of the priceless things in our lives. Many families talk about what they are thankful for as they are sitting around the dinner table before they start the meal.?

唉呀呀，這個和虎虎想的還真的不一樣呢。一開始總是以為是感恩節(jié)是來感謝朋友，家人一年內對自己的照顧，原來人家是來感謝上帝的啊！Alison似乎也對于咱的理解頗為詫異呢。

據(jù)Alison的描述，全家聚在一起坐在餐桌前，在正式開動之前，每個人會先說一番話來回顧自己這一年，遇到了哪些值得感謝的事情。其實有的時候，我們身邊從來不缺少值得感謝的事情，懷著一顆感恩的心面對每一天，生活也會變得溫暖陽光起來吧。

因此，Thank you 不嫌多，大家一起來參加咱感恩節(jié)的第一波活動吧！感恩節(jié)活動第一波：Thank u不嫌多 多說多快樂>>

想要知道感恩節(jié)都有些什么精彩活動和習俗嗎，戳我戳我>>