The origin of important festivals

1909, it is suggested to confirm Father's Day. It is said that Mrs John Bruce Dodd in Washington was the first person to put forward this proposal. Mrs. Dodd's mother died very early, and her father took on the heavy responsibility of raising and educating children alone. 1909, Mrs. Dodd is grateful for his father's upbringing and is going to hold a celebration for him. At the same time, thinking of all fathers' contributions to family and society, she wrote to a local clergy association and suggested that the third Sunday in June be designated as Father's Day. The association submitted the proposal to its members for discussion and was approved. 19 10 In June, people celebrated the first Father's Day here. At that time, everyone whose father died wore a white rose, while those whose father was alive wore a red rose. This custom has been passed down to this day. But in the beginning, the date of Father's Day was different. In some places, dandelions were used as symbols of Father's Day, while in others, white lilacs lined with a green leaf were used as symbols of Father's Day. It was not until June 1934 that the third Sunday in June was designated as Father's Day by the United States Congress.

Today, Father's Day and Mother's Day are celebrated in the same way, except that fathers' favorite gift may not be candy but cigars.

Setting up a special day to show people's respect for their mothers is not a modern invention, but a very old custom. In ancient Greece, ceremonies were held in forests or caves to worship the mother of the goddess. When they arrived in ancient Rome, these activities became even larger, and the celebrations often lasted for three days. Of course, the worship of the goddess in ancient times was just a superstition, which is very different from the respect for motherhood today.

Mother's Day in America begins in May 1907. The initiative to establish Mother's Day was put forward by Anna M Jarvis of Philadelphia. She personally arranged ceremonies and organized activities in the classroom, and asked participants to wear white carnations on their chests. This activity attracted the attention and interest of many people. The following year, more churches organized the same activities in succession; People also unanimously decided to designate the second Sunday of May as Mother's Day every year. Since then, Mother's Day has become an official holiday recognized by the United States.

19 1 1 The activities to celebrate Mother's Day have been widely carried out, not only sweeping every state in the United States, but also some countries in Canada, Mexico and South America have begun to celebrate this festival. Americans also distribute leaflets promoting Mother's Day in ten different languages to countries to expand their influence. In the following years, the upsurge of celebrating Mother's Day became increasingly high. 19 12, the international mother's day association was established in the United States. 19 13 in may, the us house of representatives unanimously passed a resolution calling on the president and cabinet, the Senate and the house of representatives, and all officials of the federal government to wear white carnations on mother's day. 19 14, the us congress officially named the second Sunday in may as mother's day, and asked the president to issue a declaration calling on government officials to fly the national flag on all public buildings. Then, President Wilson told citizens all over the country to hang national flags in their homes to show their love and respect for all American mothers. Since then, the president of the United States has issued a declaration with the same content every year.

Wear carnations on your chest. The color is exquisite. People whose mothers died still wear white carnations, while those whose mothers are alive wear red carnations. On this day, people always try their best to make their mothers spend the festival happily, and thank and compensate them for their hard work over the past year. The most common way is to send mother's day cards and gifts to mother. During the festival, every mother will be filled with joy and accept roses or other bouquets, sweets, books and souvenirs presented by her children and husbands, especially when they receive cards made by their children, which say "Mom, I love you" childishly with crayons. But the most precious and generous gift is to free them from daily housework and relax for a whole day. On this day, husbands and children in many families do all the housework. Mom doesn't have to cook, wash dishes or wash clothes. Many families also have the custom of waiting on their mothers to have breakfast in bed.

April 1 day is April Fool's Day every year, which is a traditional folk festival in the West and the United States. April Fool's Day originated in France. 1564, France first adopted the newly reformed Gregorian calendar (now the universal solar calendar), with 65438+ 10/as the beginning of the year. However, some old-fashioned people oppose this reform and still stubbornly celebrate the New Year by giving gifts on April 1 day according to the old calendar. Advocates of reform laugh at these old-fashioned practices. Smart and funny people gave them fake gifts on April 1, invited them to a fake wine party, and called the deceived conservatives "April Fools" or "Fish on the Hook". From then on, people fooled each other on April 1 day, which became a popular custom in France. /kloc-At the beginning of the 8th century, the custom of April Fool's Day spread to Britain, and was later brought to the United States by early British immigrants.

On April Fool's Day, people often organize family gatherings and decorate rooms with daffodils and daisies. The typical traditional practice is to decorate a fake environment, which can decorate the room like Christmas or New Year's Day. When the guests come, it is unique and interesting to congratulate "Merry Christmas" or "Happy New Year".

April 1 fish feast. It is also unique. Invitations to colorful banquets are usually colored fish made of cardboard. The dining table is decorated in green and white. There is a fish tank and a small fishing rod in the middle. Each fishing rod is tied with a green ribbon and hung with a gift for the guests, a delicate celluloid fish or a fish basket full of candy. It goes without saying that all the dishes at the fish feast are made of fish.

There is also the custom of cooking fake dishes at April Fool's Day parties. Someone once described a typical April Fool's Day recipe: first, it was a "salad" with green peppers on the leaves of lettuce, but after uncovering the leaves, it was discovered that it was an oyster cocktail underneath; The second course is "baked potato", in fact, there are sweet bread crumbs and fresh mushrooms below; Since then, there have been roast chicken disguised with crab meat and raspberry ice cream buried under tomato salad. After dinner, guests can also take candy out of the pill box.

However, the most typical activity of April Fool's Day is that everyone plays jokes on each other and plays tricks on each other with lies. Some people tie their wallets to the street with a thin thread and pull the other end in the dark. Once someone finds a wallet, they will suddenly drag it away. Others put bricks under the broken hat in the middle of the road, waiting to see who will kick them. Children will tell their parents that there is a hole in their schoolbags or a black spot on their faces. When adults bend over to see it, they will shout "Happy April Fool's Day". Run away with a smile. In a word, on April Fool's Day, zoos and aquariums will also receive many phone calls to Mr. Yu and Mr. Cheng Leon, which often leads staff to cut off telephone lines in order to reduce trouble.

It is said that April Fool's Day originated from a famous Greek myth and legend.

Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, is known to all Greek women and children. She has infinite magic power, which can make the land fertile and the grain abundant, and can also make the countryside barren and everything wither. Among the Greek gods, she is also one of the most revered goddesses. Zeus, the king of the gods, is her brother and husband. This identity alone is enough to make the gods fall at her feet.

However, the life of this power goddess is not perfect. Zeus, by virtue of his position as the king of the gods, created many troubles and brought endless troubles to Demeter. The only thing that can make her enjoy life is her daughter Persephone, who was born with Zeus. She is a smart, beautiful, naive and lively girl, and no one will be sad with her.

On this day, Hades drove around Sicily and was just seen by Aphrodite, the god of love and beauty walking in the clouds. At the same time, she saw Persephone walking in the field and her companion Athena, the goddess of hunting.

Aphrodite was furious when she saw these people. These men and women never talk about love or marriage. Do they still have the status of loving God? Athena and themis are famous chastity goddesses, both of whom are famous for their martial arts and divine power. Better not mess with them. But for this little girl Persephone, you're welcome.

So Aphrodite, with a sacred aura on her head, called her son little love god urrows and said to him, "Look, how do these people treat love? How can we rule the world if people and God learn from them? Come on, shoot an arrow at Hades and let him fall madly in love with Persephone! "

Urrows is a good marksman. He drew his bow and shot an invisible arrow of desire, stabbing Hades in the heart. Then, he followed Aphrodite and roared off, waiting for the performance.

Sure enough, Hades had an unforgettable love for Persephone after he was shot. But he knows very well that this well-known beauty will never give up the sunny earth and sky and go to the dark underworld with him. So he found his brother Zeus, the king of the gods, and asked him to decide to marry his daughter to Hades.

"Well ... I can't be the Lord," said the Lord of the gods thoughtfully. "You know, Demeter is difficult to deal with. However, if you have the ability to take Persephone away, I have no objection. "

With the acquiescence and hint of the God King, Hades was filled with joy, and he immediately returned to the ghost land to rob his relatives.

One day, when Persephone was bending down to pick a wild flower in the field, a big crack suddenly opened in the earth. Then, a glittering golden car rushed to the ground, driven by the majestic Pluto. He jumped, picked up Persephone, put it on the seat beside him, shouted, and the carriage sank into the ground at an unpredictable speed. The cracked earth suddenly closed, and it was still sunny. In full of green, nothing seemed to happen except Persephone's cry for help echoed in the sky. Demeter in the distance heard her daughter's heartbreaking cry for help. But when she flew back as fast as she could, her daughter was gone. She only knew that her daughter had been robbed by "robbers", but she couldn't find any clues about who the robbers were. The gods who knew the whereabouts of Persephone were silent. They know the background of this matter, Zeus and Hades are not easy to mess with, and no one wants to get burned. A few gods were forced to worry, and they were also pulling east and west, pulling south and pulling north. According to their instructions, the goddess ran headless like a fly. Needless to say, all this has become a futile trek.

However, the love for her daughter made Merte look for it endlessly. No matter what God says, she is convinced. Although it turned out that those were outright lies. In desperation, she lit two Song Ming in the unfathomable Mount Etna crater, illuminating the whole world. Since then, neither the goddess of dawn nor the goddess of night has seen her sit down and rest.

In this way, Demeter traveled all over the world. However, her daughter seems to have been swept away by the wind, melted by the sun, or turned into steam and clouds, and still disappeared. The gods gradually turned from sympathy to disgust for her. Because this "crazy woman" is looking for her daughter, there is no moment of peace in the world. The more they took her up, the more they pointed east and west, just to send her away and lead a quiet life in a few days.

Finally, Demeter had to drag himself back to Sicily, where Persephone disappeared. After running around for many days, no one knows who the culprit is, and the goddess' anger can be imagined. So, she vented all her grievances on the peasants in Sicily. She killed all the cows on the island, ordered the land to be as hard as steel, sealed the seeds in the land, and made all the plants turn yellow and wither. Let this huge island be naked and hungry everywhere.

Zeus saw her make a scene and kindly advised her to look elsewhere and not to take it out on innocent farmers. Dmitry didn't know there was fraud, so he set foot on a shopping trip again. This is a terrible thing. I don't know how many places have become barren because of the anger of the goddess, and there is a desperate atmosphere of hunger and famine everywhere.

When she realized that she was her husband's freshman year again, she calmed down and thought about what to do in the end. Inadvertently, she looked up and saw Helius, the sun god, patrolling the vast space in a golden carriage. It suddenly occurred to me that only he was above, radiant and observant. Nothing in the world can escape his eyes. This just holding a torch, fly to the front of Helius, ask him for advice.

The great sun god pities the goddess, but he is not afraid of the power of hades. Moreover, he didn't want Demeter to make such a fuss again, embarrassing the gods and suffering the people. He described the kidnapping of Hades. Demeter suddenly realized, but it was too late. At this moment, Persephone became a noble queen under the coercion and inducement of Hades, and could never reunite with her mother on the ground again. Besides, no matter how powerful Demeter was, he could not take his daughter away from Hades.

Demeter knew that he had been deceived and fooled by the gods, and his anger and irritation deepened. She simply gave an order to let all the plants in the world wither together, all the crops died, and there was no trace of green on the earth. I hid in a remote place and never appeared again.

Gal, heaven and earth all messed up. People have no food, and thousands of people starve to death every day. Crowds of dead people crowded into Hades, making a noise, which upset Hades and disturbed him. The gods are yellow, emaciated and hungry because they can't get human sacrifices and gifts. Zeus had no choice but to live in Jean Patel's hades 1/3 years, return to earth for 2/3 years, and serve his mother. From then on, whenever Persephone stayed in the land of ghosts, Demeter was very sad and the land fell into depression. Once the daughter is reunited with her, the goddess will smile, and the world will reproduce the vitality of vegetation and flowers.

Obviously, Demeter is a complete fool in this story. She doesn't know the trick of cupid, and she doesn't know her husband and Hades' accomplice. After the incident, she was fascinated and repeatedly cheated and teased. Since then, people have set up April Fool's Day to warn those who think they are smart with white lies, and don't make people laugh and be generous because of credulity.

In addition to the above story, there is also a legend about the origin of April Fool's Day. In the Middle Ages, most Christian countries used the julian calendar to celebrate New Year's Day from March 25th to April 1. According to the custom, on April 1 day, people will exchange gifts to congratulate each other. In 1752, the Gregorian calendar was promulgated, and the New Year was moved to 1+0. However, people are still willing to give gifts to others in April 1. This "new year" itself is fake. Later, some pranksters simply turned the gifts into fakes. Said to send a box of snacks, maybe stones. He claimed to visit, but kept his host waiting for a long time. The deceived person is not reconciled, but also takes medicine according to the prescription and retaliates. Over time, April Fool's Day was formed.

Today, April Fool's Day has developed into an international festival, which is almost popular in Europe and North America. Scotland calls the deceiver of this day "cuckoo", which seems to be related to the goddess of agriculture. The French call it "April fish", probably because the April fish just hatched, muddled through the bait and easily swallowed it.

As time goes by, the tricks of April Fool's Day are also bringing forth the new and bringing forth the new. For example, a newly married wife may receive a letter accusing her husband of disloyalty, a mediocre civil servant may receive a promotion order, and a son may receive a telegram about his father's death. On April 1 a certain year, the British Daily Mirror published a photo of a man who looked like the president of a country, holding an almost naked beauty in one hand. If you believe all these things, you will be taken in. Of course, if you are really fooled, you don't have to be as furious as Demeter. You'd better be a gentleman and laugh it off, which is in line with the true meaning of April Fool's Day and be kind to others.

On the fourth Thursday in June, the American people celebrate their most important traditional folk festival-Thanksgiving Day. The festival begins at 162 1. That autumn, British immigrants who came to the United States across the ocean held a three-day carnival, thanking God for giving them a bumper harvest. Since then, this custom has continued and gradually became popular in various places. 1863, American President Lincoln officially declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday. At that time, family reunion and national celebration will be as grand and warm as the Spring Festival in China.

The origin of Thanksgiving has something to do with religious disputes among Christians in Britain. From the end of16th century to the end of17th century, the English Puritans launched a fierce religious reform movement, announcing that they would leave the state religion and set up another church, and advocated eliminating the residual influence within the Anglican Church. However, in the middle of the17th century, the royalist parliament passed "Believing in the religion of the country", and the Puritans began to be brutally persecuted by the government and church forces, and were threatened with arrest, torture and religious trial all the time. Forced to do so, they had to move to the Netherlands to take refuge. However, it is difficult to live under the fence. In Holland, the Puritans not only failed to escape religious persecution, but also suffered from the pain and suffering brought by the war. What makes them unbearable is that in a foreign country, children can't stand "British education" and their feelings for their homeland are getting weaker and weaker. In order to escape from religious persecution completely and preserve the language and tradition of the motherland for the next generation, they once again thought of immigration.

Although the world is big, where are these people who have fallen to the ends of the earth? After careful consideration, they turned their eyes to the United States. Columbus discovered this "new continent" more than 100 years ago, with a vast territory and rich products, and there are still many places without kings. No parliament, no executioner, undeveloped virgin land. "The sea is wide with diving, and the sky is high." Only in such a place can they live easily, freely believe and spread their favorite religion, and open up a paradise on earth belonging to Puritans.

So Bradford, the famous leader of Puritans, gathered 65,438+002 companions. In September, 65,438+0620, he boarded a wooden sailboat, may flower, which weighed 65,438+080 tons and was 90 feet long, and began the adventure voyage of Columbus exploration. This romantic ship is too small to sail. Due to the situation, they "chose" the worst crossing season of the year. However, with a bright vision for the future, in order to get back the lost rights and freedoms, this group of people who have suffered a lot have despaired.

The sea is very stormy and the waves are very high. Mayflower is like a leaf in a storm, drifting forward with difficulty, and is in danger of sinking and dying almost at any time. However, with the concerted efforts of Qi Xin, the ship did not encounter any damage. After 66 days of sailing, it arrived at Cape Cod in North America on165438+1October 2 1 day, which is the port of provine, Massachusetts, USA today. After a short rest, Mayflower continued along the coastline. Due to headwind and jet lag, it failed to reach its intended destination-Jamestown, Virginia. Instead, it sent them to the land of New England on the first day after Christmas.

Interestingly, only one of all the explorers died in this dangerous expedition. However, due to the birth of a baby during the trip, the number of people arriving in the United States is still 102. Immigrants are devout believers, all with their hands crossed, and sincerely thank God for his care.

Now, in front of them, it is a completely strange land, and the winding coastline looks quiet and desolate. Therefore, within about a month, the immigrants did not dare to land rashly and still took the boat as their home. In the meantime, they sent a reconnaissance team to look for a settlement along Cape Cod Bay by boat. One day, while everyone was waiting anxiously, the reconnaissance team came back to report that they had found a "paradise" really suitable for immigrants to live in. "Paradise" is today's Plymouth Harbor, which is a natural harbor and is very suitable for Mayflower berthing. There is an excellent fishing ground near the port, which can provide a lot of seafood. Not far away, a rolling hill, like a natural barrier, surrounds this land. In the bright sunshine, the cold stream reflects the glittering and translucent luster, which can provide enough fresh water for immigrants. The cultivated fertile fields are neatly arranged one by one. In addition, they also saw a dilapidated house, but it was enough to shelter them from the wind and rain and help them through the severe winter ... as if everything could not be better. The only thing that puzzles them is that in this land full of human lives, there is not a figure, not a wisp of smoke, and it looks so desolate, as if it were prepared for them in advance. Later, I learned that this was once a very prosperous Indian village. A few years ago, flowers prevailed, and no one in the village was spared, which became the best refuge for this group of exotic drifters.

A few days later, may flower crossed Cape Cod Bay and anchored at Plymouth Harbor. When immigrants landed by boat, according to the ancient sailing tradition, they first climbed a big stone towering above the sea. Salute roared on the Mayflower, and people were buzzing, celebrating the beginning of a new life. Later, this reef was called "Plymouth Stone" and became the historical witness of the first permanent colony in New England.

However, for these immigrants who are eager for happiness, the first winter is not beautiful. The cold wind blowing from the Atlantic screamed in the air like a devil, and the snow and ice all over the sky beat the simple houses mercilessly. In this world of ice and snow, immigrants lack the necessary equipment and experience to live in this land. Under the heavy pressure of busy work, many people are exhausted, sick, poor diet and unbearable cold, which makes more people fall to the ground. Infectious diseases followed, claiming many lives. A winter passed, and I came to America through difficulties and obstacles.

102 immigrants, only 50 left. People die almost every day, and one or more families are holding funerals almost every day. The joy of setting foot on this land for the first time is gone. Everyone's heart is shrouded in an unprecedented atmosphere of despair. A dream, a beautiful dream that has just begun, is it broken like this? Everyone is thinking.

Just as the immigrants were helpless and waiting for death, one morning the following spring, an Indian walked into Plymouth village. He introduced himself, saying that he was sent by an Indian chief from a neighboring village to inspect the situation. This is the first guest received by immigrants after they came to the United States. They poured out their stories and untold sufferings to their guests. The Indian listened quietly, showing infinite pity and sympathy on his face. Things have turned around. A few days later, Indian Ann took his chief Massasod into the immigrant's house. The director is a generous and enthusiastic person. He extended a warm welcome to the immigrants and gave them many necessities as gifts. The most experienced and capable Indians were sent to teach immigrants how to live in this land and teach them skills such as fishing, hunting, farming and raising turkeys.

It was a good year, and with the guidance and help of Indians, the immigrants got a bumper harvest, finally overcame the difficulties of life and lived a stable and prosperous life. In this autumn, Bradford, who has become the governor of Plymouth, held a grand ceremony to thank God for his decision. This is the first Thanksgiving in history. Of course, he didn't forget the "God" who really helped immigrants solve their problems-the hospitable and clever Indians, and specially invited Massasod and his Indians to attend the festival celebration.

Indians readily accepted the invitation and sent five deer as gifts in advance. 165438+1One day at the end of October, the immigrants held a big banquet, and the table was filled with game from the mountains, as well as delicious food made of corn, pumpkin, bamboo shoots and turkey. The celebration lasted for three days. During the day, the host and guest held a banquet and talked about friendship. In the evening, there was a blazing spring fire on the grass. In the cool autumn wind, Indian boys and young people in Plymouth colony danced, sang, wrestled and shot arrows together, and the atmosphere was very warm.

Today, in the eyes of Americans, Thanksgiving is more important than Christmas. The first is a four-day holiday, which is enough for people to celebrate. Secondly, it is also a traditional day for family reunion. During Thanksgiving, it has become a national custom for scattered families to rush home for the holidays. Besides, the most important meal for Americans in a year is Thanksgiving dinner. In the United States, a fast-paced and competitive country, the diet on weekdays is extremely simple. The popular world of American fast food is a good example. But on Thanksgiving night, every family has a big meal, and the richness of goods is staggering. From the president to the common people, turkey and pumpkin pie are essential foods on the holiday table. These two "treasures" reflect the American people's memories of their ancestors' hardships and the first Thanksgiving. Japanese mood. Therefore, Thanksgiving Day is also called "Turkey Day".

Although Thanksgiving Day is a time for family reunion, thousands of people still take time to visit Plymouth Harbor and relive American history during the festival every year. Today, not only Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, but Canadians also regard it as a routine holiday. This may be because there are many descendants of British immigrants living in this vast land of Canada!