The origin of Thanksgiving can be traced back to the beginning of American history. 1620, the famous "Mayflower" arrived in America with 102 Puritans who could not bear the persecution of English religion. In the winter at the turn of 1620 and 162 1, they encountered unimaginable difficulties and were hungry and cold. After winter, only 50 immigrants survived. Based on the belief and custom of "visitors are guests", Indians sent these immigrants necessities of life and taught them how to survive by hunting, fishing and planting corn and pumpkins. With the help of Indians, new immigrants from Europe gradually got used to the local lifestyle. On the day of celebrating the harvest, new immigrants from Europe invited Indians to thank God together. In the well-known version of Thanksgiving at present, only the friendly relations between the two sides and the happy and festive atmosphere are often emphasized; However, many people point out that it is unfair to Indians to emphasize the happiness and friendliness of Thanksgiving. Because it makes people tend to forget the history of exploitation and slaughter of Indians later. Many people think that the first Thanksgiving in America is the first time that Indians and new immigrants get together to thank God. However, for many Indians, this is not the first time people have gathered to thank God for their experience. For some Indians in New England, Thanksgiving Day has been around for a long time. These Indians hold Thanksgiving six times a year, and they hold Thanksgiving ceremonies according to different seasons. The Thanksgiving ceremony held in the autumn harvest season is the fifth Thanksgiving of these Indians in a year. The so-called "origin of Thanksgiving" is actually the first day for European immigrants and Indians to thank God for their gifts, not the so-called "first Thanksgiving in America". The Thanksgiving Day celebrated by the first European immigrants and Indians lasted for three days, and the two sides also reached a peaceful and friendly agreement: Indians welcomed them to build their own villages on one of the original Indian lands. This moment was originally the beginning of the gradual consolidation of friendship between the two sides, but unfortunately the friendly relationship did not last long. Because they don't need Indian assistance as before, some new immigrants gradually forget their initial difficulties and help; Coupled with the continuous influx of more new immigrants, the distrust between the two sides has gradually increased and there have been more and more frictions; Some new immigrants don't even tolerate the religious beliefs of Indians, trying to teach and convince Indians that their beliefs are incorrect. Many frictions and conflicts led to the later "Battle of King Philip".
A land of complaints
In the mid-1960s, John Eliot, a Christian priest in New England, had converted hundreds of Indians to Christianity. Several "prayer towns" were also established. But when he preached the gospel to the Vampanoag (Metacomet), the chief "Metacomet" grabbed the imam's coat, tore off a button and held it in front of him. Claiming that you are interested in Christianity is like this button-then throw it on the ground. Metakomet, who became famous in the later war against colonial expansion, was nicknamed "King Philip" by British colonists, but his real name has been forgotten. Philip's father, the old chief massasoit, had established friendly relations with colonial immigrants. He sold and resold a lot of land to new immigrants. However, the continuous influx of immigrants has no end to their thirst for land. The colonial government in New England used various methods to force the surrounding tribes to sell their land. However, the war disputes between Indian tribes made the chiefs demand more guns and ammunition, so they had to exchange land when fur and local products were not enough. 16 1 When the old chief "Meiseyi" died, the tribe was surrounded by colonies. When Indians go to town, they must abide by colonial laws. When an Indian is drunk in the street, he will be whipped or served for ten days. The harsh laws of the Puritan colonial government bound the Indians and made them feel bitter. 1662, Philip's younger brother (Wamsutta) was summoned by Plymouth court shortly after he succeeded as chief. Although he had the honor of a chief, he was escorted to the judge with a weapon under a bayonet. More strangely, after the judge summoned him, Philip's brother fell ill and died soon. He was in office for less than two years. Philip suspected that the white colonial government poisoned him. Philip was full of suspicion and resentment towards the colonial government and inherited his brother's chieftain position. 1675, several incidents intensified the contradiction between colonial people and Indians. A group of livestock belonging to colonial residents ran into Indian cornfields and trampled on crops-it is said that this happens from time to time. Indians shot and killed eight horses, and colonists shot and killed an Indian, resulting in sudden tension between whites and aborigines; The trial of John Salmon. John Simon is a member of the Wampanoag tribe. His parents died of smallpox when he was a child, and he was adopted by a Puritan family. He naturally became a Christian. John Simone received a good cultural education and went to Harvard University to study. After returning, he worked as an interpreter for Chief Philip, shuttling between the tribe and the colonial government. John Simon warned the colonial government that Philippe was trying to rebel. Soon, Simone was murdered. A court composed of whites and Indians found three suspects guilty of murder and three criminals were executed. One of them is a close friend of Philippe. The whole case pointed out that Philippe was behind the scenes. Philippe felt compelled by the situation and decided to rise up against it.
A bloody war
Philippe ordered tribal soldiers to attack colonial towns quickly. He gave orders to his men: burn down all houses, destroy all towns and kill all white people. Everywhere Philippe went, flames rolled and blood splashed. An eyewitness described the place attacked by tribal soldiers: two old people threw themselves at the door, their upper bodies were burnt, a young woman was lying in the yard, her head was pierced by a bullet, and a baby lying not far from her was stabbed in the head by a bayonet ... Philippe's terror enveloped the land of New England, and the colonists gave up their newly opened homes and shrank to bigger towns along the Atlantic coast. Philippe's troops are equipped with flintlock guns, which are more advanced than those of the colonial government. Therefore, at the beginning of the war, King Philip was aggressive and arrogant. He had the ability to direct the war, designed several ambushes in succession, and wiped out nearly 200 government troops. This stimulated the chain rebellion of several other tribes (Nala Guincestre, Nipmuk, Pokumtak and Abenakis). Originally hostile tribes formed allies under the common goal of opposing white people occupying their homes. For a time, New England was trembling and under siege. The war enveloped Plymouth, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Rhode Island (Massachusetts. Connecticut Valley), the colonists felt panic and despair. However, in less than a year, the war situation began to reverse, King Philip's army ammunition consumption could not be supplemented, and food reserves were exhausted. The barracks had to be stationed by the river, fishing. The troops dispersed into small groups, and the tribes that had originally formed an alliance split and some tribes left. The fighting capacity of the anti-colonial alliance has been greatly weakened. The colonial army with new weapons and equipment and sufficient food and grass began to focus on counterattack. There were two famous sneak attacks, which hit Indian tribes hard. Government troops surrounded the Indian compound at night and suddenly launched an attack at dawn, killing 600 Indians at one time and 1000 people at another. Including many women and children. The revenge of the colonial army was equally cruel. A year later, King Philip's offensive was over, and he became a wandering guerrilla. /kloc-in the summer of 0/676, King Philip and several followers were trapped in the swamp. After he was killed, his body was chopped into pieces and thrown into the water. His head was picked on the head of a gun, and the victorious army marched in the street holding high. The city of Plymouth celebrated its great victory, and it was a scene of jubilation. According to the statistics of the colonial government, 1200 farmhouses were burned, 13 towns were razed to the ground, and 8,000 horses and livestock were killed. More than 600 soldiers died, and about 2,000 civilians, women and children died. The war debts owed by the colonies exceeded all the assets of the colonies. The death toll in India is ominous, which is generally considered to be three times that of the colonial government. It is estimated that 2000 people died on the battlefield alone. Infectious diseases have claimed more lives than wars. Take the Wampanoag tribe in Philippe as an example. Before the war, there were about 65,438+05,000 people, and war and disease wiped out nine-tenths of the population. The main leader of the captured tribe was hanged, the wife and son of King Philip were sold to Bermuda as slaves, and a few fugitives joined other tribes. The "Wampanoag" tribe was wiped out. King Philip finally died with his small country. He just left a word that frightened the colonists: "Fight for the life of death and die for the country." -Chief Wampanoag, Philippe 1675 "Determined not to be born until I have no country." -Chief Wampanoag, Philippe 1675.
Thanksgiving without donors
Thanksgiving Day is a unique traditional festival in the United States and Canada. On Thanksgiving Day, many people will warmly review the history of immigrants. The first European immigrants set out from Plymouth, England, took the may flower and went through hardships. They arrived in North America in the winter of 1620 (they later named this landing point Plymouth). At that time, vilen was covered with heavy snow. Hunger and cold made the immigrants desperate, and some people died. Thanks to the Indians who found them and gave them generous assistance, they survived. The next year, the new immigrants had a bumper harvest, threw a turkey feast and raised a glass to celebrate with the Indians. The feast lasted for three days and nights ... but people didn't know that this simple and hospitable tribe was the Wampanoag tribe, and this warm-hearted Indian chief was Philippe's father massasoit. 16 18, the east coast of north America was attacked by smallpox, a large number of indigenous people died and some villages were deserted. The chief is willing to let these tourists from afar settle in these abandoned villages and form a friendly alliance with them. This brotherhood lasted nearly 50 years. European immigrants expand to the North American continent at an annual growth rate of 3%. 1676, there were 52,000 immigrants in New England. Immigrants are mainly anti-objects. And proud of its advanced culture, there is discrimination and contempt for Indians. Some businessmen often seek benefits through cajoling in their contact with primitive aborigines, which makes Indians lose trust in whites. In the initial period, the colonists would express "gratitude" to the generosity of the Indians; In the end, if you don't "give", I will try to "take". The root of the dispute over Philippe is the conflict of land resources development and utilization. Without land ownership and development and utilization rights, it has evolved into a war for and maintenance of land ownership. The history of North America seems to reveal such a cold law: if a piece of land has a more effective development method and can create greater social wealth, then this land will eventually be developed in this way. Cultural tradition, land ownership, religious laws, ethics and so on can not stop the operation of this potential law. Although Indians are the oldest inhabitants in America and the original owners of this land, their attempts to maintain inefficient and traditional land use methods always fail. This failure is not in a civilized way, but in a barbaric way. Unfortunately, it is manifested in a very barbaric way: Indians not only lost their land ownership, but also ruined many people's lives. The pain of failure is unbearable. Of course, some people regard the battle of King Philip as a contest between Indian culture and European culture, and tend to establish Christian civilization. Some people regard it as a racial war between whites and aborigines, which is intended to stimulate nationalist sentiment; Some people found the evil evidence of colonial expansion to prove the justice of opposing colonialism; Others exposed the hypocrisy of holding high the banner of human rights in the United States today with serious acts of destroying human rights in this war; Even white supremacy people can find a large number of examples of ignorance and backwardness of colored people to support the theory of racial superiority of white people ... All these things are to their liking, trying to choose a color from the garden to represent spring.
[Edit this paragraph] Festival customs
At first, there was no fixed date for Thanksgiving, which was decided temporarily by the states. It was not until the United States became independent that Thanksgiving Day became a national holiday. On Thanksgiving Day, the whole country in America is very lively. Christians go to church to pray for gratitude according to custom, and there are costume parades, theatrical performances or sports competitions everywhere in the town. Relatives who have been separated for a year will also come back from all over the world, get together as a family, and taste Thanksgiving food with "turkey" as the main food. The most famous celebration in the United States is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which started at 1924. On Thanksgiving Day, America is very busy. According to custom, people go to church to pray for gratitude. Dress parades, theatrical 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 costumes, painting faces or wearing masks to sing and play the trumpet in the street. Families living in other places will also go home for the New Year. The whole family will sit around and munch on the delicious turkey and say "thank you!" " After Thanksgiving, the school will ask students to draw a picture of Thanksgiving. Most students draw turkeys. At the same time, hospitable Americans will never forget to invite friends, bachelors or people far away from home to spend the holidays on this day. 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 their example. No matter who you meet, you will say, "Thank you! "Thanksgiving shopping and Black Friday: Thanksgiving shopping has become an American custom. From Thanksgiving to Christmas, the total retail sales in the United States can account for 1/3 of the whole year, which is the traditional discount promotion season for various businesses. Shopping spree month begins on Friday after Thanksgiving, which is called Black Friday. It is said that it is called this name because in the early hours of Friday, everyone has to rush to the mall to buy cheap goods in the dark. This kind of behavior has a very vivid saying, called early bird [1]. Thanksgiving in foreign countries is as important as Spring Festival in China! President's annual ceremony of releasing turkeys began during Truman's administration 1947, but in fact this traditional ceremony can be traced back to President Lincoln's administration during the American Civil War. /kloc-one day in 0/863, Lincoln's son Ted suddenly broke into the cabinet meeting and demanded pardon for a pet turkey named Jack, because the turkey sent to the White House was about to become a Thanksgiving dinner. Bush pardons "Bird" Turkey On October 22nd, 2006/kloc-0, Bush pardoned a turkey named "Bird" at the Thanksgiving release ceremony held in the White House Rose Garden. Obama pardons turkey "courage" US President Barack Obama pardons Thanksgiving turkey on the 25th and names it "courage". This is also the first time since he took office that he pardoned Turkey Obama and thanked the brave soldiers who protected the safety of the American people. The fourth Thursday in June is Thanksgiving Day in America. Accompanied by daughters Sasha and Malia, Obama pardoned the turkey, which was supposed to be a Chinese dish. Obama said, I want to eat this turkey. Thanks to Sasha and Maria's intervention, I forgave my courage. This turkey will be sent to Disneyland. To prevent accidents, the authorities also prepared a spare turkey named Carolina.
[Edit this paragraph] Festival food
The first Thanksgiving menu includes: corn bread-corn bread, which is a favorite food for both British and Indians. English cheese pie-English cheese pie, cheese is very important to the British. Venison-venison, the Indians brought five deer. Ducks and geese-ducks and geese-were caught by the British. Wild turkey.-wild turkey. Garlic and onions.-garlic and onions. Pumpkin pudding-pumpkin pudding Indian pudding-Indian pudding salad-salad. Thanksgiving food Thanksgiving food is very traditional. Every Thanksgiving, Americans eat a fat turkey. Turkey is the traditional main course of Thanksgiving. It used to be a wild bird living in North America, which became delicious poultry after being raised in large quantities, each of which could weigh 40 to 50 kilograms. Some places still have hunting grounds for people to hunt before Thanksgiving. Interested people can go to the hunting ground and spend some money to shoot some wild turkeys themselves and go home. Make the festival more interesting. According to the recipe, a turkey weighing about 20 kg should be roasted for 4 hours until it is completely cooked. It needs to be roasted whole, the chicken skin is roasted to dark brown, and its stomach is stuffed with a lot of miscellaneous food such as broken bread. The juice of roast turkey will be used to make thick meat sauce with sweet cranberry jam as the seasoning of turkey. 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 cranberry jam, sweet potato, corn, pumpkin pie, bread baked in salad and various fruits and vegetables. These things are traditional food for Thanksgiving. The layout of the Thanksgiving table 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 happily recalled the past while eating, and they didn't leave the lovely table until the last candle burned out. Thanksgiving turkey in China can be roasted in the oven at home. After thawing, turkeys weighing less than 20 kg will be marinated with soy sauce, salt, sugar and some favorite ingredients at room temperature for one day, and it will take two days if they are placed in the refrigerator; First preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, bake for 30 minutes, then take it out and turn it upside down to make turkey. Pour the oil out of the baking pan and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. At this time, put the half-cooked glutinous rice into the stuffing made of pineapple, ham, shrimp and so on. Put it into the belly of the turkey, adjust the oven temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, spread some honey and gravy on the surface of the turkey, put it back in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, then turn over and spread the juice and bake for about 30 minutes. It is not easy to turn the turkey over, but only in this way will the turkey be evenly heated, crispy outside and tender inside, with juice in the meat and a faint sweetness of pineapple. Traditional Thanksgiving Turkey When Americans eat turkey, they usually stew it. Usually, turkeys are stuffed with various seasonings and mixed foods, then wrapped in barbecue bags and roasted whole. Thanksgiving food Traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes roast turkey, and some families use roast goose instead of turkey. Turkey has stuffing. It is made of shredded corn bread, white bread and celery. In addition, there is thick gravy cooked with turkey offal. There is also a special sauce-CranberrySauce, which is rich in cranberries every September and 10. Other side dishes include baked mashed potatoes, baked mashed sweet potatoes, green beans, and Bessie. Of course, the last dessert is pumpkin pie, walnut pie or apple pie.
[Edit this paragraph] Festival Games
After Thanksgiving dinner, some families often play some traditional games. On the first Thanksgiving, people had many recreational activities, such as dancing and competitions, some of which have been passed down to this day. There is a game called Cranberry Contest, in which a large bowl filled with cranberries is placed on the ground, and 4- 10 contestants sit together and each person gives out a needle and thread. At the beginning of the game, they threaded the needle first, then strung the cranberries one by one, and it took 3 minutes to arrive; Whoever pulls the longest rope will win the prize. As for the man who strung the string the slowest, everyone jokingly gave him a worst prize. There is also an old corn game. It is said that this is handed down to commemorate the issue of five corn to each immigrant in the case of food shortage. During the game. People hid five corn in the house, and everyone looked for it separately. Five people who found corn took part in the competition, 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 there were, and the prize with the closest number was a big bag of popcorn. People's favorite game is 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. In addition to these activities, some families drive to the countryside for an outing or travel by plane during the festival, especially Plymouth Port, where immigrants settled in the past, is a place that tourists yearn for. There, you can see ships and Plymouth stones copied from may flower, and you can spend hours visiting immigrant villages. The immigrant village was built in imitation of that year. During the visit, there are also special personnel dressed as Christians to chat with tourists, giving people an immersive feeling.
[Edit this paragraph] Territoriality
Only the United States and Canada have a holiday: Thanksgiving Day is a unique holiday in the United States and Canada. It originated more than 300 years ago. A group of 100 European immigrants immigrated to the United States, and it was difficult to survive because of hunger and cold. Most of them froze to death and starved to death in the first winter. The remaining 50 people learned to fish, hunt and grow corn and pumpkins with the help of local indigenous Indians. These people held a celebration to thank God and invited Indians to participate in next year's festival harvest. This is the origin of Thanksgiving. Later, President Lincoln of the United States declared the fourth Thursday of June 165438+ 10 as Thanksgiving Day, and there was a new public holiday in the United States. There is no Thanksgiving Day in Europe: Europeans don't have those experiences in the American continent, so there is no need to thank Indians from another continent, so they don't have Thanksgiving Day. Because this festival has a deep American history and involves religions at that time. Many people think that Thanksgiving Day is a popular holiday in Europe and America, but this is wrong. Generally speaking, it is impolite to congratulate Europeans on "Happy Thanksgiving" on Thanksgiving Day, which is easy to attract resentment. There is no habit of Thanksgiving in Hong Kong, Macao and Special Administrative Region of China, and Thanksgiving greetings may also bring confusion and disgust. "Thanksgiving Day" in China: Some people in China suggest setting up another Thanksgiving Day in China. Although Thanksgiving Day in the West has its religious connotation, it can absorb its positive factors, integrate traditional virtues and give it new meaning, choose a new anniversary and set up a "Thanksgiving Day" with China characteristics. Draw lessons from American festivals and set up China's own Thanksgiving Day so that children can learn empathy and understand their parents. Let adults understand each other and have more harmonious interpersonal relationships. The last Thursday of June 165438+ 10 is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Thanksgiving Day is a holiday created by Americans, and it is also a holiday for American family reunion. On this day, families get together to taste Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie. Some college students proposed to set up their own Thanksgiving Day among college students in China, to express their love and gratitude to friends and teachers on this day, and to connect with the surrounding reality. He felt it was very reasonable. In fact, the Chinese nation has been ready to help others since ancient times and repay kindness with kindness. It was once a famous sentence that "the kindness of being dripped by people is rewarded by a spring." Education in China pays more attention to grades and enrollment rate. In addition, many children are only children, and the love of family members leads children to take others' care for granted. Many students don't know how to thank and appreciate, but only know how to take. Even rebellious and bored with family members who care too much about themselves. Among adults, there are also cases of ingratitude and forgetfulness, and everything is based only on interests. In a civilized society, we should know how to be grateful and have a grateful heart; This is also an important requirement for building a harmonious society, which can promote harmony and coordination among social members, groups, strata and groups, and promote mutual respect, trust and help among people. Therefore, many people suggest setting up their own Thanksgiving Day in China, so that students can learn to put themselves in others' shoes, cherish their friends and understand their parents. Let adults no longer be numb and indifferent, and really care for others.