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Thanksgiving Day

感恩节

Thanksgiving Day is a very important traditional holiday in America. On the fourth Thursday of each November, families and friends gather together for the occasion to celebrate with a traditional turkey dinner, usually in the mid-afternoon. Thanksgiving Day originated as a celebration of the year’s harvest and is similar to the Mid-Autumn Festival in China.

感恩节是美国一个很重要的传统节日。每年11月的第四个星期四,人们都会与家人、朋友欢聚一堂,下午3时左右吃传统的火鸡大餐。该节日最初主要是为了庆祝一年的丰收,与中国的中秋节有些相似。

This American tradition started in 1621 before the United States of America was established. It was a huge celebration for a hard-earned harvest in the first year after the first group of immigrants arriving in the New World.

这个美国传统节日始于1621年,美国成立以前。来源于美洲新大陆第一批移民为庆祝到达新大陆之后第一年的辛苦劳作获得的丰收而举行的盛大宴会。

On September 6，1620，the Mayflower ship set sail from Plymouth, Devon, England, taking all the English Pilgrims to the New World. The English Pilgrims numbered about a hundred people, and left England to escape religious persecution¹. They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance，but they eventually became disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America.

1620年9月6日，一批不堪忍受国内宗教迫害的英国清教徒乘坐“五月花”号从英格兰德文郡普利茅斯出发，开始了驶向美洲新大陆的航行。这批清教徒大约有100人。他们最初逃亡到荷兰。在荷兰，他 们享受到了更多的宗教信仰自由，但最终却意识到在荷兰的这种生活方式是对他们的主的亵渎。为了寻求更好的生活,他们与伦敦贸易公司协商,由该公司资助他们到美国。

The Pilgrims sailed sixty-six days, arrived in the New World in November of the same year. They first settled m a cornfield abandoned by Native Indians and named it Plymouth Plantation².

淸教徒们在海上航行了 66天,终于在当年的11月到达美洲新大陆。他们最初在当地印第安人废弃的一个玉米地安顿下来，并把它命名为“普利茅斯种植园”。

They worked on the land with much difficulty and were beset³ by a devastating⁴ plague in which half of the Pilgrim died in the long winter of 1620. In the spring of 1621，an Indian brave named Squanto and her Wampanoag tribe came to their help. The tribe taught the Pilgrims how to woric the earth and plant com, beans, pumpkins⁵ and other crops.

在1620年那个寒冷而漫长的冬天,他们在这块土地上不辞辛苦地劳作着,困难重重,还逋遇了一场灾难性的痕疫，一半人在这场瘟疫中死去。到了1621年的春天,一个名叫Squanto的印第安英雄率领其瓦帕浓部落开始主动帮助他们。部落里的人教这些清教徒怎样耕种土地,怎样种植玉米、大豆、南瓜以及其他农作物。

In late September 1621, the Pilgrims were pleased with their great harvest. To celebrate their first harvest, the Pilgrims wanted to thank God and the Native Indian. They invited Squanto and the entire Wampanoag tribe to celebrate together in a shared feast.

到1621年9月底,他们的辛勤劳作终于获得了大丰收，清教徒们欢欣鼓舞。为了庆祝这第一次来之不易的大丰收,他们想要好好感谢一下上帝和当地的印第安人，便邀请Squanto及其瓦帕浓部落参加他们的庆祝盛宴。

The first Thanksgiving dinner is said to have lasted from three days to one week. It was indeed a time of happiness, fellowship and rejoicing for the Pilgrims. They arranged a friendly treaty with the Native American Indians, built houses in the wilderness⁶, and raised sufficient crops to feed themselves for the upcoming long winter. The Pilgrims had become the first generation of settlers in this new land holding so much promise.

据说第一次丰收庆祝盛宴从3天一直延长到一个星期。对于清教徒们来说，这的确是一段享受髙兴、愉悦和友谊的时间。他们和当地善良的印第安人一起准备了庆祝盛宴，在荒野中盖了房子，并为即将来临的漫长冬天储存了充足的食物。于是,在这块充满希望、憧憬和向往的新大陆上,清教徒们便成了第一代移民定居者。

This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. But in 1623, during a severe draught⁷, the pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for rain. When a long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradford proclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting⁸ their Indian friends. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed.

第二年(1622)人们却没有举行“感恩”庆典。到了1623年，发生了一场严重的旱灾,清教徒们聚集到一起,举行了虔诚的祈雨仪式，刚好在第二天,一场充沛的大雨从天而降。威廉布雷德福总督宣布再次庆祝感恩节，并再次邀请了他们的印第安朋友。之后数年无感恩节,直到1676年6月,感恩节才再次被提出。

On June 20, 1676, the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include the Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists⁹' recent victory over the ''heathen natives”，so it was quite probable that the Indians would not attend it.

1676年6月20日，马萨诸塞州的查尔斯顿政府委员会召开了一次会议,讨论如何才能最好表达对主的谢意:主赐予他们好运，庇佑他们安全地建立了他们的邦联。经过一致投票决定，由牧师爱德华劳森宣布6月29日为当年的感恩节。值得注意的是,因为此次庆典在一定程度上是殖民者对战胜“野蛮的土著人”的庆祝，所以印第安人极有可能未参加此次庆典。

The first National Thanksgiving was declared by the Continental¹⁰ Congress in 1777. On October 3, 1789, President George Washington declared that the people of the United States should observe “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” on Thursday, 26 November. In 1941，a Congressional Joint¹¹ Resolution set the fourth Thursday of November as a national holiday for Thanksgiving.

1777年，美国大陆会议第一次宣布感恩节为全国性节日。1789年10月3日，美国总统乔治·华盛顿号召美国人民把当年的11月26日（星期四)看作“一个感恩、祈祷的公开纪念日”。1941年,一项国会联合决议把感恩节定为全国性节日，时间定在每年11月的第四个星期四。

1 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

2 plantation   

n.种植园，大农场

参考例句：

• His father-in-law is a plantation manager.他岳父是个种植园经营者。
• The plantation owner has possessed himself of a vast piece of land.这个种植园主把大片土地占为己有。

3 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

6 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

7 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

8 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

9 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

11 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。