Introduction to Thanksgiving custom

1 1 The fourth Thursday of the month is Thanksgiving Day, which is the second largest holiday in the United States after Christmas. Do you know how Thanksgiving came about? Are there any customs on Thanksgiving Day?

Thanksgiving custom

On Thanksgiving Day, many western countries are busy all over the country. Dress parades, cultural 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 clothes, painting faces or wearing masks to sing and play the trumpet in the street. On Thanksgiving Day, every family member always tries his best to come back from all over the world. The whole family sits around, munches delicious turkey and talks about the past. There were also many people in the church that day. According to custom, people should pray for gratitude here.

Let's take a look at what other customs there are on Thanksgiving Day!

Food in Thanksgiving custom

1, eat turkey. Every Thanksgiving, Americans and Canadians eat a fat and tender turkey. Turkey is the traditional main course of Thanksgiving. After Europeans immigrated to America, they thought that turkeys looked like turkeys, so they were called "turkeys".

2, cranberry cranberry. This is a symbolic food for Thanksgiving. Small red fruit tastes slightly sour, but the jam is refreshing, sweet and sour. Before and after Thanksgiving, every household is keen to make cranberry sauce with different flavors, and the sweet and sour taste is most suitable for a family reunion Thanksgiving dinner.

3, pumpkin pie, it is an indispensable staple food on the Thanksgiving table except turkey. The pumpkin pie baked with butter and honey tastes crisp and rich. Many children also like it. According to different tastes, there are Ren Zhen, nuts, cheese and so on. You can also add.

In addition, there are sweet potatoes, vegetable salads, pumpkin pudding, brownies and so on.

Thanksgiving custom activities

1, for food:

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 suit.

2. Set the table:

The layout of the Thanksgiving table is also very distinctive. Fruits and vegetables are placed on the dining table. There is often a big pumpkin in the middle, and some apples, corn and dried fruits are piled around. Sometimes, people empty apples or pumpkins, put dried fruits with shells in them or light candles. Usually, the hostess can let guests into the living room after dinner, but she won't do so on Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving dinner is sweet. Everyone wants to stay at the table for a while. They are happy to recall the past while eating until the last candle burns out.

After Thanksgiving dinner, some families often play some traditional games, such as dancing and competitions. Some of them have survived to this day.

Cranberry competition: put a big bowl with cranberries on the ground, and 4 to 10 contestants will sit together, and each of them will send a needle and a thread. At the beginning of the game, they thread the needle first, and then string the cranberries one by one. When three minutes arrive, whoever has the longest string will win the prize.

Corn game: It is said that this game has been handed down to commemorate the distribution of five corn to each immigrant in the case of food shortage. During the game, people hid five corns in the house, and everyone looked for them separately. Five people who found corn participated in the game, 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 were in it, and the prize for the closest guess was popcorn.

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, which often makes everyone laugh.

In addition to these activities, some families drive to the countryside for an outing or travel by plane during festivals, especially where immigrants settled in those years. The port of Plymouth is a place that tourists yearn for. There, you can see ships and Plymouth stones copied from Mayflower, and you can spend hours visiting the immigrant village. The immigrant village was built in imitation of that year. During the visit, professionals dressed as Puritans talked with tourists, giving people an immersive feeling.

How did Thanksgiving come about? What are the eating customs?

The fourth Thursday and Friday in October are legal holidays in the United States. Mdash& ampmdash Thanksgiving Day. On this day, people thank God for his kindness in this year. Thanksgiving is also a family holiday. The family got together happily and held a family dinner to celebrate this exciting moment. At the same time, they also felt the goodwill of their loved ones. During Thanksgiving, there will be masquerade parades, theatrical performances, shooting, target shooting and other sports competitions in urban and rural areas of the United States. Some American families, religious organizations and charities will also provide free turkey banquets for the poor, orphans and vagrants, so that those unfortunate people can also get a warm feeling on Thanksgiving Day.

And this warm festival is closely linked with the early history of the United States.

The Puritans went to America.

Before 1600 years ago, a group of Christians in Britain tried to "purify" the Anglican Church at that time, so they were called "Puritans" by the British. When they realized that it was impossible to realize the reform from the Christian Ministry at that time, some Puritans decided to leave the state religion and set up their own church in exchange for persecution by British officials. Unwilling to endure this persecution, they decided to move to Holland.

Over time, the Puritans living in the Netherlands felt that not only did they fail to escape the threat of religious persecution and war, but even their children could not grow up in their own cultural atmosphere, so they were infinitely disappointed and indignant. They want to preserve the language and traditions of their motherland and are eager to get rid of religious persecution. To this end, they thought of moving again and decided to go to America. They feel that only in a desolate land can they live a free life according to their own wishes.

So, the Mayflower, carrying men, women and children 102 passengers, set sail from Hong Kong in September 1620. For seafarers, September is the most unsuitable season for sailing in a year, with heavy waves and rugged journey. However, only one passenger died during the whole flight. Because a baby was born on the boat during the trip, Mayflower drifted at sea for 65 days, and there were still 102 passengers when she landed at Provincetown Port on Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. Mayflower originally planned to go south to Jamestown, Virginia, but due to navigation errors and headwinds, Mayflower came to New England.

India helps

About a month after Mayflower landed, the immigrants still took the boat as their home. During this period, they sent a reconnaissance team to scout the coastline of Cape Cod Bay and found this port in Plymouth. The port has excellent fishing grounds, cultivated land and corn fields. The clear fresh water is rippling in the stream, and the high hills are very suitable for building fortifications. This used to be an Indian village. A few years ago, smallpox epidemic killed all the villagers. The reconnaissance team returned to may flower by boat and reported the discovery. A few days later, the Mayflower crossed Cape Cod Bay and docked at Plymouth Harbor. When the immigrants rowed ashore in small boats, they first boarded a big reef, which was later named Plymouth Rock.

When they first arrived in Plymouth, the immigrants lacked experience and equipment, and it was difficult for them to adapt to life in the wilderness. The first winter was a terrible nightmare, and the sufferings of the immigrants were incalculable. Bad food, heavy labor, infectious diseases and severe cold have killed almost half of the people, leaving only 50 immigrants at the end of this winter.

162 1 One morning in spring, an Indian walked into Plymouth village and introduced himself in a friendly way. Later, he even brought Chief Massasod here. The chief brought gifts and help to the immigrants, and sent Indians from his tribe to teach them how to hunt, fish and farm, and how to use fish as fertilizer when planting corn, pumpkins and broad beans. Thanks to the help of Indians, the immigrants got a bumper harvest.

The first thanksgiving

Immigrants thank God and friendly Indians. The first Governor William &; Middot According to the traditional custom, Bradford suggested setting up a festival to express gratitude to God and all those who helped them. Therefore, in the autumn of 162 1, a date of thanking God was announced, and it was decided to use this religious festival to strengthen the friendship between immigrants and Indian neighbors. Therefore, he specially invited Chief Massasod and the brave Indians in his tribe to attend Plymouth's first Thanksgiving feast. In this way, Plymouth, Massachusetts created the first Thanksgiving in America.

Indians readily accepted the invitation and sent five deer as gifts in advance. Before the festival, Plymouth people went hunting in the surrounding Woods; Women prepare delicious corn, fruits, bamboo shoots and pumpkins at home.

Plymouth people's first Thanksgiving dinner was held outdoors. Although it is late autumn, the blazing bonfire makes both the host and the guest feel warm and abnormal. Chief Massasod and 90 Indians were invited to the banquet. The celebration lasted for three days. On the first day, Indians and immigrants mainly shared food; On the second and third days, Indian boys wrestled, ran, sang and danced with young people in Plymouth. The first Thanksgiving celebration was a great success.

Confirmation of Thanksgiving Day

In the early days, there was no fixed date for Thanksgiving Day, which was decided temporarily by the states. After several changes, it was not until 194 1, with the approval of President Roosevelt, that the US Congress passed a bill and declared the fourth Thursday of June 1 1 as the national Thanksgiving Day, and the date of Thanksgiving was officially determined.

The first Thanksgiving in Plymouth lasted for three days. Today, Thanksgiving Day is a four-day holiday for many Americans. On Thanksgiving Day and the next day, schools are closed for two days. Many people don't go to work on Thursday and Friday. During Thanksgiving, many Americans who leave home, whether the journey is long or not, have to rush home for the holiday.

Although it is a national custom in the United States to go home for Thanksgiving, every Thanksgiving, about 10,000 Americans visit Plymouth Harbor and relive the early history of the United States with sadness.

Thanksgiving custom

Today, many American Thanksgiving customs are inherited from the first Thanksgiving celebration held by Plymouth people. The modern Thanksgiving turkey is the same as the fire that Plymouth people hunted from the Woods.

Chickens are exactly the same; Pumpkins and corn on the modern Thanksgiving table are exactly the same as those harvested by Plymouth immigrants. Pumpkin pie and Indian pudding (a kind of milk and egg paste made of corn) are traditional sweets that must be eaten at Thanksgiving party.

After Thanksgiving dinner, people sometimes play some traditional games, such as pumpkin race, in which participants push pumpkins with small spoons. The rule is that they can't touch the pumpkin with their hands, and the first person to reach the finish line wins. The smaller the spoon used in the game, the more interesting the game is.

How time flies! More than 300 years have passed in a blink of an eye, but the custom of celebrating Thanksgiving has been passed down from generation to generation. Whether on the rocky west coast or in beautiful Hawaii, people celebrate Thanksgiving in almost the same way. Now Thanksgiving Day is not only a holiday of _ _, but also belongs to America. People in many other parts of the world express their gratitude to those they love and those who have helped them. The world is undoubtedly a better place because of this festival.

Extended reading:

Thanksgiving food

For Americans, the most important meal of the year is Thanksgiving dinner. In the United States, a fast-paced and competitive country, the diet on weekdays is extremely simple. 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. Therefore, Thanksgiving Day is also called "Turkey Day". Turkey is the traditional main course of Thanksgiving. It used to be a wild bird living in North America, but later it was raised in large quantities to become delicious poultry, each of which can weigh 40 to 50 kilograms.

1. There is also a certain emphasis on how to eat turkey.

After serving, the host cut it with a knife and distributed it to everyone. Then everyone poured marinade and sprinkled with salt, which was very delicious. Besides turkey, there are sweet potatoes, corn, pumpkin pie, salad, baked bread and various fruits and vegetables.

2. The dining table layout is also very distinctive.

Housewives don't put flowers as usual, but fruits and vegetables. There is often a big pumpkin in the middle, and some apples, corn and dried fruits are piled around. Sometimes, people empty apples or pumpkins, put dried fruits with shells in them or light candles. Usually, the hostess can invite guests to the living room after dinner, but she doesn't do this on Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving dinner is sweet. Everyone is willing to stay at the table for a while. They are happy to recall the past while eating, and they don't leave the table until the last candle burns out.