Xiyang immigrant village

Thanksgiving Day is a holiday in the United States and Canada, originally to thank God for the good harvest. In the United States, Thanksgiving Day falls on the fourth Thursday of June 1 1 because of194/,and there will be a two-day holiday from this day. On this day, thousands of people will be reunited with their families no matter how busy they are. Thanksgiving is an ancient festival for the American people, and it is also a festival for Americans to reunite with their families. Therefore, when Americans mention Thanksgiving, they always feel cordial. Thanksgiving Day is the most authentic and Americanized of the national holidays in the United States, and it is closely related to the early history of the United States. Thanksgiving in Canada begins on 1879 and falls on the second Monday of June 10 every year, which is the same as Columbus Day in the United States.

The origin of Thanksgiving can be traced back to the beginning of American history. 1620, the famous Mayflower arrived in America with 102 Puritans who could not bear the persecution of English religion. In the winter at the turn of 1620 and 162 1, they encountered unimaginable difficulties and were hungry and cold. After winter passed, only 50 immigrants survived. At this time, the kind Indians brought necessities to the immigrants, and specially sent people to teach them how to hunt, fish and grow corn and pumpkins. With the help of Indians, the immigrants finally got a bumper harvest. On the day of celebrating the harvest, according to religious traditions and customs, immigrants set a day to thank God and decided to invite them to celebrate the festival together to thank the Indians for their sincere help.

On the first Thanksgiving, Indians and immigrants gathered together. They fired a salute at dawn, marched into a room used as a church, expressed their sincere thanks to God, then lit a bonfire and held a grand banquet. On the second and third days, wrestling, running, singing and dancing were held. The first Thanksgiving was a great success. Many of these celebrations have been circulated for more than 300 years and have been preserved to this day.

At first, there was no fixed date for Thanksgiving, which was decided temporarily by the states. It was not until the United States became independent that Thanksgiving Day became a national holiday. 1863, President Lincoln made Thanksgiving a legal holiday. By 194 1 year, the US Congress passed a decree to designate the fourth Thursday of 1 1 month as Thanksgiving Day. On Thanksgiving Day, America is very busy. People go to church to pray for gratitude according to custom, and there are costume parades, theatrical performances or sports competitions everywhere in urban and rural towns. Relatives who have been separated for a year will also come back from all over the world, and the family will be round and round and enjoy the delicious Thanksgiving turkey.

The Origin of Thanksgiving in Canada

Thanksgiving in Canada and the United States is not on the same day. Maybe we know that the Canadian Parliament made Thanksgiving a legal holiday a little later than the United States. But the first Thanksgiving in Canada is 40 years earlier than that in the United States, and Canada celebrates Thanksgiving on the second Monday in October. Unlike the American tradition of commemorating the settlement of Puritan ancestors in the New World, Canadians mainly thank God for giving them a successful harvest. Thanksgiving in Canada is earlier than in America. It is a simple fact that the harvest season in Canada is earlier than that in the United States, because Canada is closer to the north. Thanksgiving in Canada is usually thought to be influenced by three traditional habits.

One is the influence from European tradition. Since the earliest harvest about 2000 years ago, people have celebrated the harvest and thanked nature for its kindness and good luck. When Europeans came to Canada, they also brought this tradition to Canada and influenced the Thanksgiving tradition in Canada.

The second is that British explorers celebrate the influence of survival. Canada held its first official Thanksgiving 40 years before the Puritans arrived in Massachusetts. 1578, an English explorer named Martin Frobisher tried to find a passage connecting the east, but he failed. But he established a settlement in Newfoundland, Canada, and held a banquet to celebrate survival and harvest. Other later settlers continued these "thanksgiving" ceremonies. This time is considered to be the first Thanksgiving in Canada.

The third influence came from later America. 162 1 In the autumn of, British immigrants who came across the ocean to the new American continent held a three-day carnival, thanking God for the bumper harvest. Since then, this custom has continued and gradually became popular in various places. During the American War of Independence, a group of royalists loyal to the British royal family moved to Canada, which also brought the habits and methods of American Thanksgiving to Canada. 1750 Harvest Festival was brought to Nova Scotia by immigrants from the southern United States. At the same time, French immigrants arrived and held a "Thanksgiving" banquet. All these have had a profound impact on Thanksgiving in Canada.

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 June1957 65438+1October 3 1 day, and the Canadian Parliament declared the second Monday of1October as Thanksgiving Day, on which we thanked Almighty God for blessing Canada and giving it a rich harvest.

In the United States, 1863, President Lincoln officially declared Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Usually, American Thanksgiving allusions are inseparable from Puritans and famous leader Bradford, 65,438+002 companions, Mayflower, 90-foot wooden sailboat weighing 65,438+080 tons, Cape Cod Bay, Plymouth Harbor, Indians and Chief Massasod. These are the historical testimony of the first permanent colony in New England.

Thanksgiving in the two countries has many similarities, such as cornucopia and pumpkin pie, which are full of flowers and fruits, symbolizing 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.