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The History of Thanksgiving in the USA
The Thanksgiving holiday celebrated each November in the United States is known worldwide as an American custom. And Thanksgiving and gratitude have marked important milestones in American life for hundreds of years.
The Pilgrims' First Harvest Feast
The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church (a Puritan sect). 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. Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflower were non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Only about one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.
The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast -- including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. The Pilgrims did have a feast in 1621 near Plymouth, Massachusetts, after their first harvest. This is the feast people often refer to as "The First Thanksgiving." This feast was never repeated, so it can't be called the start of a tradition, nor did the colonists or Pilgrims call it a Thanksgiving Feast. In fact, to these devoutly religious people, a day of thanksgiving was a day of prayer and fasting.
Nevertheless, the 1621 feast has become a model for the Thanksgiving celebration in the United States. More than likely, this first harvest feast was eaten outside, based on the fact that the colonists didn't have a building large enough to accommodate all the people who came. Native Americans definitely were among the invited guests, and it's possible, even probable, that turkey, roasted but not stuffed, and pumpkin in some form found their way to the table. The feast went on for three days, included 90 "Indians," as Native Americans were called then, and had plentiful food. In addition to the venison provided by the Native Americans, there was enough wild fowl to supply the village for a week. The fowl included ducks, geese, turkeys and even swans.
New World With Many Cultural Influences
In addition to thanksgiving traditions brought to North America by settlers from many parts of the world, some authorities link the American thanksgiving with the ancient Jewish observance of Sukkot in the fall, which expresses thanks to God for the bounty of the earth.
Indeed, all the major world religions—including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam—have rituals, observances and liturgies that express thanks and gratitude to a higher power for the gift of life and its wonders. Regardless of the origin of the American Thanksgiving holiday, the following brief timeline shows its development.
Timeline of American Thanksgiving Holiday
In 1541, during Coronado's expedition a Eucharistic thanksgiving, with the friendly Teya Indians present, occurred in Palo Duro Canyon in West Texas.
Pilgrims and Native Americans enjoyed a harvest feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. This feast may have become the model for today's American celebration.
Settlers and colonists from many continents brought customs of days of prayer and thanksgiving, especially in New England, where the first Thanksgiving of the Massachusetts Bay Colony was observed on July 8, 1630.
The first Thanksgiving of the new United States of America occurred in 1777 when General George Washington and his army, as instructed by the Continental Congress, stopped in bitter weather in the open fields on their way to Valley Forge to mark the occasion.
Washington's first proclamation after his inauguration as the nation's first president in 1789 declared November 26, 1789, as a national day of "thanksgiving and prayer." And the annual presidential thanksgiving proclamations ceased for 45 years in the early 1800s.
President Abraham Lincoln resumed the tradition in 1863.
On November 26, 1941 President Roosevelt signed the bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. Because two years out of every seven have five Thursdays in November, some states for the next 15 years celebrated on their own on the last Thursday. Since 1956, the fourth Thursday in November has been observed by every state.
In 1976, the 200th birthday year of America, the Chapel of Thanksgiving was consecrated. President Ford referred to it as "a major national shrine," and later President George Bush noted that it is "a symbol and a home for America's most beloved tradition."
The National Thanksgiving Commission was inaugurated at Valley Forge in 1977, where 200 years earlier General George Washington celebrated the first national Thanksgiving with his troops. Former President Ford became the Commission's honorary president, and Lady Bird Johnson, the former First Lady, became honorary vice president. Former Ambassador Armstrong is president of the commission.
Former Ambassador to Britain and Cabinet member Anne Armstrong asked President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to place the National Day of Prayer on its original spring date, which had been neglected for nearly two centuries.
The first Thursday in May has been the official day ever since, reviving the ancient "spring prayer and fall Thanksgiving" cycle of the Continental Congress. Congress unanimously confirmed the historic date in 1988.
Since 1981, a National Day of Prayer breakfast has been held in Dallas each May under the auspices of the National Thanksgiving Commission and Thanks-Giving Square.
The Wall of Presidents at Thanks-Giving Square
The Wall of Presidents at Thanks-Giving Square honors words expressed about Thanksgiving by American presidents over the past two centuries. Set in a grove of sweet gum trees in the Meditation Garden at Thanks-Giving Square, the Wall of Presidents was dedicated in November 1991 by President George Bush. The wall features quotes from Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Bush.
In dedicating the wall President Bush declared, "The Home of American Thanksgiving is dedicated in the name of presidents past, present and future." The dove that serves as the centerpiece of the exhibit was personally designed by George Washington and patterned after Noah's Dove of Thanksgiving. Washington used the dove design in the weathervane placed on the roof of his beloved home, Mount Vernon.
The first Americans observed rituals and ceremonies to express gratitude to a higher power for life itself. A Seneca Indian ritual, for example, states, "Our Creator ... Shall continue to dwell above the sky, and this is where those on the earth will end their thanksgiving." Another quotation attributed to American Indians before Columbus is, "The plant has its nourishment from the earth and its limbs go up this way, in praise of its Maker ... like the limbs of a tree."
感恩节的来历
2011感恩节是11月24日 星期四
11月的第四个星期四是感恩节。感恩节是美国人民独创的一个古老节日，也是美国人合家欢聚的节日，因此美国人提起感恩节总是备感亲切。感恩节是美国国定假日中最地道、最美国式的节日(holiday)，它和早期美国历史最为密切相关。
感恩节的由来要一直追溯到美国历史的发端。1620年，著名的“五月花”号船满载不堪忍受英国国内宗教迫害的清教徒102人到达美洲。1620年和1621年之交的冬天，他们遇到了难以想象的困难，处在饥寒交迫之中，冬天过去时，活下来的移民只有50来人。这时，心地善良的印第安人给移民送来了生活必需品，还特地派人教他们怎样狩猎、捕鱼和种植玉米、南瓜。在印第安人的帮助下，移民们终于获得了丰收，在欢庆丰收的日子，按照宗教传统习俗，移民规定了感谢上帝的日子，并决定为感谢印第安人的真诚帮助，邀请他们一同庆祝节日。
在第一个感恩节的这一天，印第安人和移民欢聚一堂，他们在黎明时鸣放礼炮，列队走进一间用作教堂的屋子，虔诚地向上帝表达谢意，然后点起篝火举行盛大宴会。第二天和第三天又举行了摔交、赛跑、唱歌、跳舞等活动。第一个感恩节非常成功。其中许多庆祝方式流传了300多年，一直保留到今天。
初时感恩节没有固定日期，由各州临时决定，直到美国独立后，感恩节才成为全国性的节日。 1863年，美国总统林肯正式宣布感恩节为国定假日。届时，家家团聚，举国同庆，其盛大、热烈的情形，不亚于中国人过春节。
感恩节庆祝模式许多年来从未改变。丰盛的家宴早在几个月之前就开始着手准备。人们在餐桌上可以吃到苹果、桔子、栗子、胡桃和葡萄，还有葡萄干布丁、碎肉馅饼、各种其他食物以及红莓苔汁和鲜果汁，其中最妙和最吸引人的大菜是烤火鸡(roastturkey)和南瓜馅饼(pumpkinpie)，这些菜一直是感恩节中最富于传统和最受人喜爱的食品(food)。
世界范围内不同的感恩节
The concept behind Thanksgiving ceremony celebration, held with a massive zeal in every nook and corner of U.S., is similar to the August Moon Festival in China, Tet Trung Thu in Vietnam, Succoth in Jew, Kwanzaa in Africa, Pongal in India and Chusok in Korea. The list is endless. The only difference in the festivals is date, rituals and customs but the reason behind it remains the same, to thank God for a huge fruitful harvest.
In China
The Chinese celebrate August Moon festival that falls on the 15th day of 8th lunar month of their calendar. Chinese believe that the moon is roundest and brightest on this day. Below the heavenly moonlight, lovers speak out their heart to each other. It is also known as Women Festival. Conventionally women are considered similes to warm and compassionate virtues and have the gift of fertility, just like Mother Earth. Unlike the famous pumpkin pie, the Chinese delicacies consist of moon-cake. Friends and relatives convey their regard to each other by gifting moon cake.
In Rome
The Roman harvest festival known as Cerelia was celebrated in the honor of the deity Ceres (Goddess of Corn). Their festival commenced on October 4th and it was a custom to first produced fruits, grains and animals to the Goddess. Music, parades and sports extended the glee of the ceremony.
In Brazil
The Brazilian thanksgiving is quite contemporary compared to American thanksgiving. When the Ambassador of Brazil visited U.S. at the invitation of National Cathedral of Washington, D.C., he was enamored by the concept and brought it to his homeland. In southern Brazil, it is a sort of expressing gratitude to Almighty for an enormous harvest. Though acclaimed for its Carnival celebrations they cannot be undermined in other festivities.
In Korea
The celebration falls on 15th of August, which is known as Chu-Sok (meaning "fall evening"). It begins on 14th night and continues for three days. Koreans make a dish called 'Songpyon' unique for that occasion consisting of rice, beans, sesame seeds and chestnuts. Before having the food, the family gathers beneath the moonlight, in remembrance of their ancestors and forefathers. The children dress in long-prescribed dress dancing in circle with an inherent desire of their blessing.
In 1621, after a hard and devastating first year in the New World the Pilgrim's fall harvest was very successful and plentiful. There was corn, fruits, vegetables, along with fish which was packed in salt, and meat that was smoke cured over fires. They found they had enough food to put away for the winter. The custom of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued through the years.
Many Americans think of Thanksgiving as a wonderful time to celebrate getting out of school for a long weekend, and eating a great dinner. Or, maybe they think it is the start of the Christmas holiday season.
Harvest festivals and thanksgiving celebrations were also held by the ancient Greeks, the Romans, tthe Chinese, and the Egyptians.
The Greeks
The ancient Greeks worshipped many gods and goddesses. Their goddess of corn (actually all grains) was Demeter who was honored at the festival of Thesmosphoria held each autumn.
On the first day of the festival married women (possibility connecting childbearing and the raising of crops) would build leafy shelters and furnish them with couches made with plants. On the second day they fasted. On the third day a feast was held and offerings to the goddess Demeter were made - gifts of seed corn, cakes, fruit, and pigs. It was hoped that Demeter's gratitude would grant them a good harvest.
The Romans
The Romans also celebrated a harvest festival called Cerelia, which honored Ceres their goddess of corn ,from which the word cereal comes. The festival was held each year on October 4th and offerings of the first fruits of the harvest and pigs were offered to Ceres. Their celebration included music, parades, games and sports and a thanksgiving feast.
The Chinese
The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival, Chung Ch'ui, with the full moon that fell on the 15th day of the 8th month. This day was considered the birthday of the moon and special "moon cakes", round and yellow like the moon, would be baked. Each cake was stamped with the picture of a rabbit - as it was a rabbit, not a man, which the Chinese saw on the face of the moon.
The families ate a thanksgiving meal and feasted on roasted pig, harvested fruits and the "moon cakes". It was believed that during the 3 day festival flowers would fall from the moon and those who saw them would be rewarded with good fortune.
The Egyptians
The ancient Egyptians celebrated their harvest festival in honor of Min, their god of vegetation and fertility. The festival was held in the springtime, the Egyptian's harvest season.
Canada
Thanksgiving in Canada is celebrated on the second Monday in October. Observance of the day began in 1879.
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