英语双语故事:感恩节的由来 the history of Thanksgiving Day
Most stories of Thanksgiving history start with the harvest celebration of the pilgrims and the Native Americans that took place in the autumn of 1621. Although they did have a three-day feast in celebration of a good harvest, and the local natives did participate, this "first thanksgiving" was not a holiday, simply a gathering. There is little evidence that this feast of thanks led directly to our modern Thanksgiving Day holiday. Thanksgiving can, however, be traced back to 1863 when Pres. Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.
However, since most school children are taught that the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 with the Pilgrims and Indians, let us take a closer look at just what took place leading up to that event, and then what happened in the centuries afterward that finally gave us our modern Thanksgiving.
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 natives who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the natives. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival than a true "thanksgiving" observance. It lasted three days.
Governor William Bradford sent "four men fowling" after wild ducks and geese. It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, it is certain that they had venison. The term "turkey" was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.
Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgiving table is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included that treat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread or pastries of any kind. However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced a type of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider, potatoes, or butter. There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and the newly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be poisonous. But the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit, clams, venison, and plums.
This "thanksgiving" feast was not repeated the following year. Many years passed before the event was repeated. It wasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of thanksgiving was proclaimed. On June 20 of that year the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to express thanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely established. By unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29 as a day of thanksgiving. It is notable that this thanksgiving celebration probably did not include Native Americans, as the celebration was meant partly to be in recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the "heathen natives," (see the proclamation). By then, it had become apparent to the settlers that the natives were a hindrance to their quest for more land, so the good will they shared at the first feast had long been lost.
A hundred years later, in October of 1777 all 13 colonies joined in a thanksgiving celebration. It also commemorated the patriotic victory over the British at Saratoga. But it was a one-time affair.
George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, although some were opposed to it. There was discord among the colonies, many feeling the hardships of a few pilgrims did not warrant a national holiday. And later, President Thomas Jefferson opposed the idea of having a day of thanksgiving.
It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies' Magazine, and later, in Godey's Lady's Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale's obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.
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感恩与朝圣者和发生在1621年秋天举行的美洲原住民庆祝丰收的历史开始的楼层最多。虽然他们确实有一个好收成的庆祝为期三天的节日,和当地土人确实参与,这个“第一次感恩节”是不放假,只是一个聚会。很少有证据表明,这直接导致的感谢我们的节日感恩节假期现代化。感恩可以,但是,要追溯到1863年的时候普雷什。林肯成为第一位总统宣布感恩节。这个节日一直是11月下旬以来,夹具。
然而,由于大多数学校教导孩子们第一次感恩节是在1621年举行的朝圣者和印第安人,只是让我们看看发生了什么导致这一事件仔细一看,然后又如何在数百年之后,终于发生了我们的现代感恩节。
朝圣者来到这个谁搭乘五月花国家都是原本是英国分离教会成员(清教徒教)。此前,他们逃离他们家在英国,并驶往荷兰(荷兰),以逃避宗教迫害。在那里,他们享受了更多的宗教信仰自由,但最终却意识到在荷兰的生活道路,思考它的亵渎。为了寻求更好的生活,他们与伦敦贸易公司协商,由资助他们到美国。使搭乘五月花行程,其他大多数人不分离主义分子,但被雇佣来保护公司的利益。只有约三分之一的原殖民者三分之一是分离主义者。 朝圣者设置一六二~年十二月十一日在普利茅斯岩石地面。他们的第一个冬季是灾难性的。在下面的秋天开始,他们已经失去了原来的102谁对乘客只剩下46。但1621年收获了大丰收。而余下的殖民者们决定一起飨宴庆祝 - 包括91谁曾帮助朝圣者生存的第一年本地人。据认为,朝圣者就不会度过这一年的未经当地居民的帮助它。这个节日是一个传统的不仅仅是一个“感恩”仪式,英国丰收节庆。它持续了三天。 总督布雷德福派了“四人捕鸟队”去捕捉野鸭和野鹅。这是不能肯定是否有野生火鸡在当时的盛宴的一部分。但是,可以肯定的是,他们有鹿肉。术语“火鸡”是朝圣者用来代表各种野禽。 几乎每一个感恩节的另一位现代表主食是南瓜饼。但它是不可能的第一次庆典上有这种食品。面粉的供应曾长期减少,所以没有任何形式的面包或糕点。然而,他们却吃了煮南瓜,并产生了一种油炸面包的玉米作物类型。另外,也没有牛奶,苹果酒,土豆和黄油。有没有国内的牛乳制品,及新发现的土豆被很多欧洲人认为是有毒的。但庆典上有鱼,草莓,豆瓣菜,龙虾,干果,蛤,鹿肉,李子等。 “感恩”节日是不是重复了下一年。许多年过去了,重复之前的事件。直到1676年六月不是再次庆祝感恩节宣告成立。 6月20日这一年的查尔斯顿,马萨诸塞州,理事会召开会议,以确定如何最好地表达了好运,看到了他们的社会安全地建立感谢。通过一致表决他们指示爱德华劳森,由书记宣布为6月29日的感恩节。值得注意的是,今年的感恩节庆祝活动可能不包括土著美国人,作为庆祝活动是为了在一定程度上殖民者对胜利的认可是对“野蛮的土著人”(见公告)。到那时,它已成为明显的定居者,而原住民是一个阻碍他们追求更多的土地,所以他们的良好意愿在第一宴共享早已丢失。 一百年后,在1777年10月,13个殖民地加入了感恩节庆典。它还在纪念英国在萨拉托加爱国主义的胜利。但它是一个一次性的事件。 乔治华盛顿总统还是宣布感恩节是在1789年国庆节,虽然有些人反对。有意见的分歧在殖民地中,不少人认为,仅仅一小撮朝圣者的艰辛并不能保证一个全国性的节日。后来,美国总统托马斯杰斐逊反对有感恩节的建议。 若没有萨拉J ·黑尔,一位杂志编辑,最终就不会有我们现在所谓的感恩节承认的努力。黑尔说她在她的倡导波士顿妇女'杂志导致许多社论,后来,在Godey的夫人的书。最后,经过写作社论和致信州长乃至总统40年的运动中,海尔的理想终于变为现实的时候,在1863年,林肯总统宣布在11月作为一个全国性的节日感恩节的最后一个星期四。 但具体时间也发生过几次变化。这一天是改变了几次,最近一次是由富兰克林罗斯福,谁设置了一个星期,以便今后到上周四创造一个更长的圣诞购物季节。但公众反对呼声太高,总统不得不将感恩节日期返回到其原来的两年后。 1941年,感恩节是由美国国会最终批准为法定假日,如在十一月第四个星期四。
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