What is Thanksgiving Day?

Thanksgiving is an ancient festival created by the American people, and it is also a festival for Americans to get together. At first, there was no fixed date for Thanksgiving Day, which was decided temporarily by American states. It was not until 1863 after the independence of the United States that President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday. 194 1 year, the US Congress officially designated the fourth Thursday in June 1 1 as "Thanksgiving Day". Thanksgiving holiday usually lasts from Thursday to Sunday.

1879 The Canadian Parliament declared165438+10.6 as Thanksgiving Day and a national holiday. In the following years, the date of Thanksgiving was changed many times until the Canadian Parliament declared the second Monday of June1957+1October 3 1 day as Thanksgiving.

In addition to the United States and Canada, Egypt, Greece and other countries in the world have their own unique Thanksgiving Day, but European countries such as Britain and France are isolated from Thanksgiving Day [3], and some scholars advocate the establishment of "China Thanksgiving Day" to promote traditional culture.

Customs and habits:

United States, Canada

In terms of customs, the United States and Canada

Thanksgiving day celebrations

Canada is basically the same, and its eating customs are: roast turkey, pumpkin pie, raspberry jam, sweet potato and corn; Activities include: playing cranberry contest, corn game and pumpkin race; Group activities such as parades, theatrical performances or sports competitions are held, and there are corresponding holidays for 2 days. People far away will go home to reunite with their loved ones. Now it has also formed the habit of avoiding turkey and shopping on Black Friday.

Thanksgiving in the United States and Canada has many similarities, such as cornucopia and pumpkin pie, both of which use flowers and fruits to symbolize abundance. The food on the Canadian Thanksgiving dinner table usually changes with the change of region and time, some are venison and waterfowl, some are wild ducks and geese, but at present it is mainly turkey and ham.

dinner

Thanksgiving dinner is an important meal for Americans in a year. This meal

Thanksgiving food

Our food is very abundant. At the dinner table, turkey and pumpkin pie are essential.

Thanksgiving food in America is full of traditional characteristics. Turkey is the traditional main course of Thanksgiving. Usually, turkeys are stuffed with various spices and mixed foods, and then the whole turkey is cooked. The chicken skin was roasted to dark brown, and the owner sliced it with a knife and distributed it to everyone. Then everyone poured marinade and sprinkled with salt, which was very delicious. In addition, traditional Thanksgiving food also includes sweet potato, corn, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, self-baked bread and various fruits and vegetables.

match

I often play some traditional games after supper. For example: dancing, various competitions and many other recreational activities. There is a game called Cranberry Contest, in which a large bowl filled with cranberries is placed on the ground, and 4- 10 contestants sit together and each person gives out a needle and thread. At the beginning of the game, they threaded the needle first, then strung the cranberries one by one, and it took 3 minutes to arrive; Whoever pulls the longest rope will win the prize. As for the person who dresses the slowest, everyone jokingly gave him the worst prize.

There is also an old corn game. Put it in the first place

Thanksgiving pumpkin

There are five corn hidden in the house, so let's look for it separately. Five people who found corn took part in the competition, while others watched. At the beginning of the competition, five people quickly peeled corn kernels in a bowl, and whoever peeled them first won the prize. Then people who didn't take part in the competition guessed around the bowl how many corn kernels there were, and the prize with the closest number was a big bag of popcorn.

People's favorite game is pumpkin race. Participants push pumpkins with small spoons. The rule is never to touch the pumpkin with your hands. The first person to reach the finish line wins the prize. The smaller the spoon used in the game, the more interesting the game is.

go on an outing

In addition to these activities, some families will drive to the countryside for an outing or travel by plane on Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Plymouth Port, where immigrants originally settled, is a place that tourists yearn for. There, you can see imitation boats and Plymouth stones in imitation of may flower, and you can also visit the immigrant village built in imitation of that year.

go shopping

2013165438+1On Thanksgiving Day on October 28th, people in new york, USA flocked to shopping malls and supermarkets, and started shopping for Black Friday ahead of schedule.

parade

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade started at 1924, which is the largest Thanksgiving Day celebration in the United States. It is held every year on the fourth Thursday of 165438+ 10.

regional difference

Americans: Reunion, carnival, shopping, eating and drinking.

In the United States, like the Spring Festival in China, there are thousands of people on Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving party

No matter how busy people are, they should be reunited with their families and enjoy a rich holiday meal together.

Thanksgiving holiday is also the most tense time for American airlines. The flight is almost full, and the flight is often delayed. But people may be willing to spend their holidays with their families.

Every Thanksgiving, every American family eats turkey. Turkey has become a symbol of Thanksgiving. They usually eat some traditional dishes, such as zucchini, cream onion, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.

In addition, people will go to church to pray for gratitude according to the custom. Dress parades, theatrical performances and sports competitions are held everywhere in urban and rural towns, and schools and shops are also on holiday as required. Children also imitate the Indians in those days, wearing strange costumes, painting faces or wearing masks to sing and play the trumpet in the street. Families living in other places will also go home for the holidays, and the whole family will sit around and munch on delicious turkey and thank their families. After Thanksgiving, the school will ask students to draw a picture of Thanksgiving. Most students draw turkeys.

At the same time, hospitable Americans can't forget to invite friends, bachelors or people far away from home for a holiday on this day. Since18th century, the United States has had the custom of sending a basket of food to poor families. At that time, a group of young women wanted to choose a certain day of the year to do good deeds and thought Thanksgiving was the most suitable day. So as soon as Thanksgiving comes, they put a basket full of food and send it to the poor families. It was widely known, and soon many people followed their example. No matter who you meet, you will say, "Thank you!"

Americans are also used to calling the Friday on the second day of Thanksgiving "Black Friday". On this day, all kinds of shops in the United States will discount their goods, which has become more and more serious in recent years. Some merchants even advance the discount date to Thanksgiving Day, which sets off a shopping frenzy every year in the United States.

Canadians: Festivals unrelated to religion.

Thanksgiving in Canada and the United States is not on the same day. Because of its high latitude and early mature season, it is different from the tradition of Americans remembering the Puritan ancestors' settlement in the New World. Canadians mainly thank God for bringing them a bumper harvest. Thanksgiving Day is mainly to celebrate the harvest, thank nature, thank God for the abundant sunshine and nectar, and take the harvest of grains as the theme of gratitude, without any religious color. Therefore, Thanksgiving Day in Canada is earlier than that in the United States and is scheduled to be celebrated on the second Monday in October.

Canadians will also get together as a family and enjoy roast turkey and pumpkin pie, which is the most classic Thanksgiving picture. Traditional roast turkey is filled with croutons, onions, celery and sage, and then baked in the oven. The average housewife likes to buy a big turkey, because if she can't finish it that day, she can turn it into a turkey pie or a turkey pie. As for pumpkin pie, the most traditional way to eat it in Canada is to pour rich cranberry sauce on it. Be careful when making pumpkin pie, because canned pumpkin will be smoother than fresh pumpkin.

Egyptian: Pretend to cry for corn.

The harvest festival in ancient Egypt is to commemorate their crop god Min. Their harvest season is spring, so this festival is held every spring. During the festival, the ancient Egyptians first held a parade and then held a festival banquet. At the same time, music, dance and sports competitions are also their celebration projects.

When celebrating the corn harvest, ancient Egyptians often pretended to cry and be sad to deceive the "soul" they thought existed in corn. They are afraid that the corn grown after harvest will make this "soul" angry.

Jews: build huts and hold banquets under the starlight.

Jews also want to celebrate the harvest. Their festival is called "Mao Festival", which is a Jewish harvest festival. The "Maojie Festival" held every autumn has a history of more than 3000 years. "Maojie Festival" began in Hebrew history, that is, 15 in July of the Jewish calendar, that is, the fifth day after the Jews atoned.

During the 8-day "He Miaomiao Festival", Jews built a hut with branches to recall the altar of ancestor worship. These huts are built temporarily, with no branches inserted into the ground and thatched roofs to facilitate light entry. There are fruits and vegetables hanging in the house, including apples, grapes, corn and pomegranate. On the second day of the festival, Jews held their festival banquet in a small house under the stars.

Greeks: Cakes and fruits are dedicated to the goddess of agriculture.

The ancient Greeks believed in many gods, including a goddess named Demeter, who was in charge of agriculture, marriage and fertility. The "Thesmosphoria" festival held by the Greeks every autumn is to commemorate this goddess. On the first day of the festival, married women set up a hut covered with leaves and put a bench made of plants in it. The next day is fasting day, and on the third day, a banquet is held to present corn seeds, cakes, fruits and pigs to the goddess.

European countries such as Britain and France: insulated from Thanksgiving

France, Britain and other European countries are isolated from Thanksgiving. The British don't celebrate Thanksgiving. For them, the single most important holiday is Christmas. Europeans have no experience in the American continent, and there is no need to thank Indians from another continent, so there is no Thanksgiving Day. Because this festival has a deep American history and involves religions at that time. Many people think that Thanksgiving Day is a popular holiday in Europe and America, but this is wrong. Generally speaking, it is impolite to congratulate Europeans on "Happy Thanksgiving" on Thanksgiving Day, which is easy to attract resentment.