Things you may not know about Thanksgiving Day

　　感恩节来了，除了火鸡，这些事儿你得清楚~

　　Thanksgiving Day in the United States is a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. It precedes Black Friday.

　　美国的感恩节是一个发生于十一月的第四个星期四的假日。感恩节在“黑色星期五”(美国人民大采购的日子——译者注)前夕。

　　What Do People Do?

　　人们都干些啥?

　　Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a day for families and friends to get together for a special meal. The meal often includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and vegetables. Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to give thanks for what they have.

　　在传统上，感恩节是亲朋好友共聚一堂、享用特别餐宴的日子。餐宴通常包括一只火鸡、馅饼、土豆、蔓越莓酱、肉汁、南瓜饼、以及各类蔬菜。对于很多人而言，感恩节是向所拥有的东西表达谢意的时候。

　　Thanksgiving Day parades are held in some cities and towns on or around Thanksgiving Day. Some parades or festivities also mark the opening of the Christmas shopping season. Some people have a four-day weekend so it is a popular time for trips and to visit family and friends.

　　感恩节当天或前后几天，一些城市和城镇举行感恩节游行。一些游行或欢庆也标志着圣诞购物季的开始。部分人有一个为期四天的周末，因此这段时间旅行和走亲访友十分流行。

　　Public Life

　　公众生活

　　Most government offices, businesses, schools and other organizations are closed on Thanksgiving Day. Many offices and businesses allow staff to have a four-day weekend so these offices and businesses are also closed on the Friday after Thanksgiving Day. Public transit systems do not usually operate on their regular timetables.

　　大多数政府办事处、企业、学校、和其它组织在感恩节歇业。很多办事处和企业允许员工有一个为期四天的周末，这样它们在感恩节后的星期五也会歇业。公共交通系统一般不会按照它们的正常时间表运行。

　　Thanksgiving Day it is one of the busiest periods for travel in the USA. This can cause congestion and overcrowding. Seasonal parades and busy football games can cause disruption to local traffic.

　　在美国，感恩节是旅行最为繁忙的时期之一。这会引起堵塞和拥挤。季节性的游行和繁忙的足球比赛也会造成当地交通中断。

　　Background

　　背景

　　Thanksgiving Day has been an annual holiday in the United States since 1863. Not everyone sees Thanksgiving Day as a cause for celebration. Each year since 1970, a group of Native Americans and their supporters have staged a protest for a National Day of Mourning at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Thanksgiving Day. American Indian Heritage Day is also observed at this time of the year.

　　自从1863年以来，感恩节成了美国的一个年假。并不是所有人都把感恩节视为庆祝的一个理由。1970年之后，一群美洲原住民及他们的支持者们每年都会在感恩节当天来到马塞诸塞普利茅斯的普利茅斯岩上，为国殇日抗议。每年的这个时候，人们也会庆祝美洲印第安人遗产日。

　　There are claims that the first Thanksgiving Day was held in the city of El Paso, Texas in 1598. Another early event was held in 1619 in the Virginia Colony. Many people trace the origins of the modern Thanksgiving Day to the harvest celebration that the Pilgrims held in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. However, their first true thanksgiving was in 1623, when they gave thanks for rain that ended a drought. These early thanksgivings took the form of a special church service, rather than a feast.

　　据说，人们于1598年在德克萨斯州埃尔帕索市庆祝了首个感恩节。另一个早期事件于1619年在弗吉尼亚殖民地举行。很多人将现代感恩节的起源追溯到清教徒于1621年在马萨诸塞普利茅斯举行的丰收庆祝。但是，他们的第一个真正的感恩节是在1623年，当时他们感谢结束了一场干旱的降水。这些早期感恩节表现为一场特殊的礼拜，而非一顿大餐。

　　In the second half of the 1600s, thanksgivings after the harvest became more common and started to become annual events. However, it was celebrated on different days in different communities and in some places there were more than one thanksgiving each year. George Washington, the first president of the United States, proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving Day in 1789.

　　十七世纪下半叶，在丰收后进行感恩变得更加普遍，并且开始成为一年一度的活动。但是，不同社区庆祝感恩节的时间不同，一些地方每年甚至不止一个感恩节。1789年，美国第一任总统乔治·华盛顿宣布了第一个全国性的感恩节。