大嘴Yuki
Thanksgiving Day Fourth Thursday in November Almost every culture in the world has held celebrations of thanks for a plentiful harvest. The American Thanksgiving holiday began as a feast of thanksgiving in the early days of the American colonies almost four hundred years ago.In 1620, a boat filled with more than one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World（新大陆）. This religious group had begun to question the beliefs of the Church of England and they wanted to separate from it. The Pilgrims settled in what is now the state of Massachusetts. Their first winter in the New World was difficult. They had arrived too late to grow many crops, and without fresh food, half the colony died from disease. The following spring the Iroquois Indians（美国纽约州东北部易洛魁族印第安人）taught them how to grow corn, a new food for the colonists. They showed them other crops to grow in the unfamiliar soil and how to hunt and fish.In the autumn of 1621, bountiful crops of corn, barley（大麦）, beans and pumpkins were harvested. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so a feast was planned. They invited the local Indian chief and 90 Indians. The Indians brought deer to roast with the turkeys and other wild game offered by the colonists. The colonists had learned how to cook cranberries and different kinds of corn and squash dishes from the Indians. To this first Thanksgiving, the Indians had even brought popcorn.In following years, many of the original colonists celebrated the autumn harvest with a feast of thanks.After the United States became an independent country, Congress recommended one yearly day of thanksgiving for the whole nation to celebrate. George Washington suggested the date November 26 as Thanksgiving Day. Then in 1863, at the end of a long and bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln asked all Americans to set aside the last Thursday in November as a day of thanksgiving.Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, a different date every year. The President must proclaim that date as the official celebration.Thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. Even if they live far away, family members gather for a reunion at the house of an older relative. All give thanks together for the good things that they have.In this spirit of sharing, civic groups and charitable organizations offer a traditional meal to those in need, particularly the homeless. On most tables throughout the United States, foods eaten at the first thanksgiving have become traditional.Symbols of ThanksgivingTurkey, corn, pumpkins and cranberry sauce（酸果曼沙司）are symbols which represent the first Thanksgiving. Now all of these symbols are drawn on holiday decorations and greeting cards. The use of corn meant the survival of the colonies. "Indian corn" as a table or door decoration represents the harvest and the fall season.Sweet-sour cranberry sauce, or cranberry jelly, was on the first Thanksgiving table and is still served today. The cranberry is a small, sour berry. It grows in bogs（沼泽）, or muddy areas, in Massachusetts and other New England states. The Indians used the fruit to treat infections. They used the juice to dye their rugs and blankets. They taught the colonists how to cook the berries with sweetener（甜味佐料）and water to make a sauce. The Indians called it "ibimi" which means "bitter berry." When the colonists saw it, they named it "crane-berry" because the flowers of the berry bent the stalk over, and it resembled the long-necked bird called a crane. The berries are still grown in New England.In 1988, a Thanksgiving ceremony of a different kind took place at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. More than four thousand people gathered on Thanksgiving night. Among them were Native Americans representing tribes from all over the country and descendants of people whose ancestors had migrated to the New World.The ceremony was a public acknowledgment of the Indians' role in the first Thanksgiving 350 years ago. Until recently most schoolchildren believed that the Pilgrims cooked the entire Thanksgiving feast, and offered it to the Indians. In fact, the feast was planned to thank the Indians for teaching them how to cook those foods. Without the Indians, the first settlers would not have survived. Black Friday in United StatesQuick FactsBlack Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Day in the USA. It is a busy shopping day and is a holiday in some states.Local namesNameLanguageBlack Friday English Viernes Negro Spanish יום שישי השחור (קניות) Hebrew الجمعة السوداء Arabic 검은 금요일 Korean Schwarzer Freitag (Black Friday) German Black Friday 2014Friday, November 28, 2014Black Friday 2015Friday, November 27, 2015List of dates for other yearsBlack Friday is the day after Thanksgiving Day in the USA and falls on the Friday after the fourth Thursday in November. It is a busy shopping day and is a holiday in some states.What do people do?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.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.Public lifeMost 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.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.BackgroundThanksgiving 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.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.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.
丝雨如薇
万圣节英文内容
October 31即10月31日，就是西方的万圣节前夕，下面我准备了一些万圣节的`英语内容，欢迎大家阅读欣赏!
On October 31st, dozens of children dressed in costumes(节日服装)knock on their neighbors’ doors and yell "Trick or Treat" when the door opens. Pirates and princesses, ghosts and popular heroes of the day all hold bags open to catch the candy or other goodies that the neighbors drop in.
As they give each child a treat the neighbors exclaim over the costumes and try to guess who is under the masks.
Since the 800’s November 1st is a religious holiday known as All Saints’ Day(万圣节). The Mass that was said on this day was called Allhallowmas.
The evening before became known as All Hakkiw e’en, or Halloween. Like some other American celebrations, its origins lie in both pre-Christian and Christian customs.
October 31 st was the eve of the Celtic(凯尔特人的)new year. The Celts were the ancestors of the present-day Irish, Welsh and Scottish people. On this day ghosts walked and mingled with the living, or so the Celts thought.
The townspeople baked food all that day and when night fell they dressed up and tried to resemble the souls of the dead. Hoping that the ghosts would leave peacefully before midnight of the new year.
Much later, when Christianity spread throughout Ireland and October 31 was no longer the last day of the year, Halloween became a celebration mostly for children.
"Ghosts" went from door to door asking for treats, or else a trick would be played on the owners of the house. When millions of Irish people immigrated to the United States in the 1840s the tradition came with them.
Today’ school dances and neighborhood parties called "block parties" are popular among young and old alike. More and more adults celebrate Halloween. They dress up like historical or political figures and go to masquerade parties(化妆舞会).
In larger cities, costumed children and their parents gather at shopping malls early in the evening. Stores and businesses give parties with games and treats for the children.
Teenagers enjoy costume dances at their schools and the more outrageous the costume the better!
Certain pranks(恶作剧)such as soaping car windows and tipping over garbage cans are expected. But partying and pranks are not the only things that Halloweeners enjoy doing. Some collect money to buy food and medicine for needy children around the world.
Halloween originated as a celebration connected with evil spirits. Witches flying on broomsticks with black cats, ghosts, goblins(小精灵)and skeletons have all evolved as symbols of Halloween.
They are popular trick-or-treat costumes and decorations for greeting cards and windows. Black is one of the traditional Halloween colors, probably because Halloween festivals and traditions took place at night.
In the weeks before October 31, Americans decorate windows of houses and schools with silhouettes(轮廓)of witches and black cats.
Pumpkins are also a symbol of Halloween. The pumpkin is an orange-colored squash, and orange has become the other traditional Halloween color.
Carving pumpkins into jack- o’lanterns is a Halloween custom also dating back to Ireland. A legend grew up about a man named Jack who was so stingy(吝啬的)that he was not allowed into heaven when he died, because he was a miser(吝啬鬼).
He couldn’t enter hell either because he had played jokes on the devil. As a result, Jack had to walk the earth with his lantern until Judgement Day(审判日). The Irish people carved scary faces out of turnips(芜菁根), beets(甜菜根)or potatoes representing "Jack of the Lantern," or Jack-o’lantern. When the Irish brought their customs to the United States, they carved faces on pumpkins because in the autumn they were more plentiful than turnips.
Today jack-o’-lanterns in the windows of a house on Halloween night let costumed children know that there are goodies(糖果)waiting if they knock and say "Trick or Treat!"
南京爱华会务
万圣夜(Halloween)(又叫鬼节，万圣节前夜)在每年的10月31日，是英语世界的传统节日，主要流行于北美、不列颠群岛、澳大利亚、加拿大和新西兰。许多公共场所乃至居家院落，都会布置上很多装璜，诸如各式鬼怪呀、南瓜灯呀、还有黑猫以及巫婆的扫帚之类;孩子们会穿上每年不一样的万圣节服装，拎着南瓜灯的提篓去挨家挨户地讨糖，说是“不给糖就捣蛋(trickortreak)”万圣夜在10月31日的前一夜，其实是赞美秋天的节日，就好像五朔节是赞美春天的节日一样。古代高卢、不列颠和爱尔兰的祭司--德鲁伊德有一个赞美秋天的盛大节日，从万圣夜后午夜开始，直至次日11月1日持续整整一天。他们认为，在那天晚上他们伟大的死神--萨曼会把那年死去人的鬼魂统统召来，这些恶鬼要受到托生为畜类的惩罚。当然，只要想到这种鬼魅的聚会，就足以令当时那些头脑简单的愚民胆战心谅的了。于是他们点起冲天的篝火，并严密监视这些恶鬼。如今在整个欧洲，人们都把万圣夜看作尽情玩闹、讲鬼故事和互相吓唬的好机会。于是人们不再把这节日仅仅用来赞美秋光，而是让它变成一场真正的“狂欢”。而脸谱化妆是万圣节传统节目之一。
酒窝喵喵兔
Origin of Halloween (万圣节起源):Halloween is one of the world’s oldest holidays, celebrated in several countries around the world including the USA, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Mexico, Latin America, and Spain.（万圣节是世界上最古老的节日之一，在10 月31日这天，有许多国家，如：美国,加拿大,英格兰,爱尔兰,苏格兰,墨西哥,拉丁美洲,西班牙等，都会庆祝万圣节的来临。）The Celtic peoples lived over 2,000 years ago In the place that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Northern France.Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).（在2000多年前的爱尔兰及法国北部，住着一群凯尔特人，而万圣节就是起源于古凯尔特人的一个叫做Samhain的节庆）。For the Celtic peoples, the New Year was celebrated on November 1st of every year. This date marked the end of Summer and the beginning of Winter. （凯尔特人选在每年November 1st ，11月1日庆祝新年，正值夏天结束，冬天刚开始的时节）。
奔跑的鱼肝油
The Celtic people, who lived more than 2000 years ago feared the evening of Oct. 31 more than any other day of the year. It was the eve of their festival of Samhain. Samhain was a joyful harvest festival that marked the death of the old year and the beginning of a new one. The day itself was a time for paying homage to the sun god Baal who had provided the people with the ripened grain for use in the upcoming winter. Come evening evil spirits were everywhere. Charms and spells were said to have more power on the eve of Samhain. Several rituals were performed by the Celtic priests, Druids, to appease the Lord of the Dead
吧啦左耳
Halloween originated from Samhan's Day of the Celts in ancient BC. Sam Khan is a god of death, also known as the Prince of Darkness. The Celts believed that on October 31, he would gather the souls of the dead for a year and dedicate them to the Celtic God. The Sun God also regards that day as a festival and receives people's gratitude for the harvest he has brought to people for a year.When the Romans invaded Britain in 55 B.C., the custom of the fruit tree festival commemorating Palmona, the goddess of fruit trees, was incorporated into the activities of celebrating the harvest. The Celtic New Year falls on November 1, marking the beginning of winter and the beginning of death's rule. The Wizards of the Celts summoned magic to demonize. Now Halloween night appears ghosts, goblins, witches, skeletons, black cats, masks, bonfires and so on from this custom.万圣节起源于公元前古代克尔特人的山姆汉节。山姆汗是位死神，也称黑暗王子。克尔特人都相信，10月31日那天，他要把一年中死亡者的灵魂都聚集在一起献给克尔特人的上帝。太阳神也把那天视为节日，并接受人们对他的感激，感谢他给人们带来了一年的丰收。公元前55年，罗马人入侵英国时，把纪念果树女神帕莫娜的果树节习俗溶入庆丰收的活动中。克尔特人的新年为11月1日，它标志着冬天的开始和死神统治的开始。克尔特人中的巫师召来魔力降妖。现在万圣节前夜出现鬼怪、妖精、巫婆、骷髅、黑猫、面具、篝火等均出自自这一习俗。
