感恩節就其意義和慶祝方式來說，從1621年以來，幾乎沒有什麼變化。在這一天，各個教派的教堂都開放，向上帝的慷慨恩賜表示感謝。
【感恩節的由來】
Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national Holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country.
感恩節是美國國定假日中最地道、最美國式的節日，而且它和早期美國歷史最爲密切相關。
In 1620，the settlers，or Pilgrims，they sailed to America on the May flower，seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship.
After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed at in icy November，what is now Plymouth， Massachusetts.
1620年，一些朝聖者(或稱爲清教徒)乘坐"五月花"號船去美國尋求宗教自由。他們在海上顛簸折騰了兩個月之後，終於在酷寒的十一月裏，在現在的馬薩諸塞州的普里茅斯登陸。
During their first winter，over half of the settlers died of starvation or epidemics.
Those who survived began sowing in the first summer long they waited for the harvests with great anxiety，knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depended on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yield rich beyond expectations.
And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed.
Years later，President of the United States proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day every year. The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has been observed on that date until today.
在第一個冬天，半數以上的移民都死於飢餓和傳染病，活下來的人們在第一個春季開始播種。
整個夏天他們都熱切地盼望着豐收的到來，他們深知自己的生存以及殖民地的存在與否都將取決於即將到來的收成。
後來，莊稼獲得了意外的豐收，所以大家決定要選一個日子來感謝上帝的恩典。多年以後，美國總統宣佈每年十一月的第四個星期四爲感恩節。感恩節慶祝活動便定在這一天，直到如今。
The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years.
The big family dinner is planned months ahead. On the dinner table， people will find apples，oranges，chestnuts，walnuts and grapes. There will be plum pudding， mince pie， other varieties of food and cranberry juice and squash.
The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.
感恩節慶祝模式許多年來從未改變。豐盛的`家宴早在幾個月之前就開始着手準備。人們在餐桌上可以吃到蘋果、桔子、栗子、胡桃和葡萄，還有葡萄乾布丁、碎肉餡餅、各種其它食物以及紅莓苔汁和鮮果汁，其中最妙和最吸引人的大菜是烤火雞和番瓜餡餅，這些菜一直是感恩節中最富於傳統意義和最受人喜愛的食品。
Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a bread dressing to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts.
But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives，it is not easy to get a consensus on the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird.
人人都贊成感恩節大餐必需以烤火雞爲主菜。火雞在烘烤時要以麪包作填料以吸收從中流出來的美味汁液，但烹飪技藝常因家庭和地區的不同而各異，應用什幺填料也就很難求得一致。
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 blessings.
今天的感恩節是一個不折不扣的國定假日。在這一天，具有各種信仰和各種背景的美國人，共同爲他們一年來所受到的上蒼的恩典表示感謝，虔誠地祈求上帝繼續賜福。
【感恩節火雞的由來】
Of all the symbols of thanksgiving, the turkey is most familiar and widespread.
It is considered as the most famous exemplary might be due to its sharp features, bright hues and majestic appearance.
Turkey is a common breed and a native of northern Mexico and the eastern United States.
Now it is being raised in large numbers and some of the commonplace species that are popular are Bronze, Narragansett, White Holland, and Bourbon Red.
Though there is no evidence that Turkey was available to the pilgrims, Massachusetts from where the practice originated, has a legend that it was served in the first Thanksgiving Dinner.
In a book written by the Pilgrim's Governor Bradford, he mentions of wild turkeys while another Pilgrim describes in a letter sent to England how the governor sent 'four men out fowling' who returned with turkeys, ducks and geese for the feast.
Though no accurate reports were found, a tale goes where turkey was their original choice but they could not find it. They cooked crow instead and served the local Indians.
As a part of tradition, turkey remains of central importance in the Thanksgiving menu surrounded by several other delicious dishes.
During the dinners, the family members may also utter a few lines of thanks or chant a special prayer.
首先熟悉一些雞類的單詞，在英語中被廣爲人知的turkey(火雞)，我們爲什麼在感恩節吃火雞?因爲十月裏的火雞，膘肥體壯，“正是火雞欲上時”。自然成爲了人們的首選目標。
火雞曾被哥倫布誤認爲是珍珠雞。事實上，早在中世紀就有“印度雞”這種叫法。但是“印度”在這裏指的是阿比西亞，珍珠雞在那裏是野禽。
當哥倫布在墨西哥上岸，並相信自己到達的是印度時，他眼中的火雞就無辜被叫成了“印度雞”。所以後來“印度雞”就成了火雞的第一個正式說法。到了16世紀上半葉，火雞才被歐洲人擺上餐桌。
拿火雞做爲感恩節的象徵是再貼切不過了。因爲火雞在北美印第安人眼中象徵着男子漢的力量與女人的繁殖能力。
