提到感恩节,人们首先想到的就是火鸡、黑色星期五和感恩节大游行,但你听过“富兰克林感恩节”、“零购买日”、“火鸡跑”吗?事实上,感恩节还有不少有意思的习俗和庆祝活动。
1. THE TURKEY TROT
火鸡跑 A turkey trot is a fun run or footrace, usually of the long-distance variety, that is held on or around Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Traditionally, turkey trots are held because Americans anticipate indulgent Thanksgiving feasts and run in turkey trots to burn off calories before the big meal. 火鸡跑是感恩节前后在美国举办的一项公益跑步或竞走活动,通常为长距离类型。传统上,人们举办火鸡跑活动,是因为美国人的感恩节大餐格外丰盛,而火鸡跑能让人们在节日大餐之前先燃烧一些卡路里。
Some organizations hold their turkey trots the week prior to Thanksgiving in order to provide festive holiday meals to homeless and low-income families in their community. First prize for winning turkey trots is often an actual frozen turkey that the winner can use for his or her family's Thanksgiving feast. 一些机构在感恩节前一周举办火鸡跑,目的是为社区内的流浪者和低收入家庭供应节日食品。火鸡跑的冠军通常会获得一只货真价实的冷冻火鸡,可以和家人一起在感恩节晚宴上分享。
The oldest known turkey trot footrace took place in Buffalo, New York, and has been happening every year since 1896. Nearly 13,000 runners participated in the 4.97 mile race last year. 已知最早的火鸡跑起源于纽约布法罗地区,从1896年至今每年都会举办。去年有近13000名选手参加了全程长约8公里的火鸡跑。 2. FRANKSGIVING
富兰克林感恩节 From 1939 to 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving up by a week. In 1939, Thanksgiving, traditionally held on the last Thursday of November, fell on the 30th. Since enough people would wait until after Thanksgiving to start their Christmas shopping, Roosevelt was concerned that having the holiday so late in the month would mess up retail sales at a time when he was trying hard to pull Americans out of the Great Depression. 1939年至1941年期间,美国总统富兰克林•D•罗斯福将感恩节提前了一个星期。感恩节的传统日子是11月最后一个星期四,1939年的这一天正好是11月30日。罗斯福当时正在努力让美国走出经济大萧条,由于人们通常会等到感恩节之后才开始为圣诞节采购,他担心这么晚过感恩节会让零售业陷入困境。
It didn't entirely go over well though—some states observed FDR's change, and others celebrated what was being called the "Republican" Thanksgiving on the traditional, last-Thursday date. Today, we've basically split the difference—Thanksgiving is held on the fourth Thursday of November, regardless of whether that's the last Thursday of the month or not. 不过,罗斯福的举措并没有完全见效,一些州遵从了他的改变,而另一些人则依然按照传统,在11月的最后一个星期四庆祝所谓的“共和党感恩节”。现在,我们一般采取折中办法,在11月的第四个星期四庆祝感恩节,不管这一天是不是11月的最后一个星期四。 3. BUY NOTHING DAY
零购买日 Since 1952, Black Friday (the day following Thanksgiving Day) has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the US. And in retaliation for Black Friday, there's Buy Nothing Day. To protest consumerism, many people informally celebrate BND. It was first "celebrated" in 1992, but didn't settle on its day-after-Thanksgiving date until 1997, where it has been ever since. 自1952年以来,黑色星期五(感恩节后的第一天)一直被视为美国圣诞购物季的开端。而零购买日正是为对抗黑色星期五存在的。为抗议消费主义,许多人自发庆祝零购买日。这个“节日”最早始于1992年,但直到1997年以后,才将日期固定在感恩节后的第一天。
4. THE PRESIDENTIAL TURKEY PARDON
总统火鸡赦免仪式 The story goes that since at least Harry Truman, it has been tradition for the President of the US to save a couple of birds from becoming someone's feast. Records only go back to George H.W. Bush doing it, though some say the tradition goes all the way back to Abraham Lincoln pardoning his son's pet turkey. 据说,从哈里•杜鲁门总统起,赦免一对火鸡,让它们避免沦为盘中餐就成了美国总统的一项传统。关于火鸡赦免仪式的有关记载只能追溯到老布什总统,但一些人认为,这个传统可以一直追溯到亚伯拉罕•林肯赦免他儿子的宠物火鸡。
In recent years, the public has gotten to name the turkeys in online polls; the paired turkeys have gotten creative names such as Stars and Stripes, Biscuit and Gravy and Marshmallow and Yam. 近年来,民众开始通过网络投票,为被赦免的火鸡取名。它们的名字颇具创意,比如星星和横条,饼干和肉汁,棉花糖和山药。 5. THANKSGIVING PARADES
感恩节游行 Everyone knows about the Macy's Parade, but for a more historically accurate parade, check out America's Hometown Thanksgiving Parade in Plymouth. The America's Hometown Thanksgiving Parade is an annual parade held in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The parade, which began in 1996, is traditionally held the weekend before Thanksgiving and draws its name from the fact that Plymouth Colony was the landing point of the Pilgrims involved in the traditional "First Thanksgiving" in the early 1620s. 所有人都知道梅西感恩节大游行,但要说历史更悠久的,当属普利茅斯的美国故乡感恩节游行。美国故乡感恩节游行是马萨诸塞州普利茅斯举办的年度游行,该活动始于1996年,通常在感恩节之前的那个周末举行。普利茅斯的游行活动之所以叫“美国故乡感恩节游行”,是因为17世纪20年代初期,五月花号上的第一批清教徒的登陆地点正是普利茅斯殖民地。
Unlike most Thanksgiving parades, which include giant balloons of popular characters, the America's Hometown parade has a strict theme. Each element in the parade is based on the history of the United States and arranged in chronological order, with five divisions separated by century: the colonial period of the 17th century, the Revolutionary period of the 18th century, the Civil War and pioneer periods of the 19th century, military and automotive showcases from the 20th and 21st centuries, and the closing division, the last of which includes the traditional Santa Claus float. 与大多数充斥着巨型气球和人气角色的感恩节游行不同,美国故乡游行有严格的主题。游行中的所有元素都以美国历史为依据,并按照历史顺序排列,按世纪划分成五个部分:17世纪的殖民时期,18世纪的美国革命时期,19世纪的南北战争及开拓时期,20世纪和21世纪的军事及自动化展示,以及带有传统圣诞老人花车的结束部分。
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