In the United States, the last Thursday of June 165438+ 10 is the Thanksgiving Day celebrated by the whole country, and it is stipulated that there will be three days off from this day. that is

Even Americans who are far away in a foreign land have to go back to reunite with their families before the festival to celebrate the festival. Americans attach great importance to Thanksgiving Day.

Compared with the traditional grand festival-Christmas.

Why is it called Thanksgiving? Tracing back to the source, Thanksgiving is related to ancient American Indians, especially planting corn.

Very close relationship. 1620 On September 6th, a group of English Puritans couldn't bear religious persecution and took the Mayflower.

"The wooden boat sailed for America. They drifted in the Atlantic for 65 days under the attack of fatigue, hunger, cold and disease. Finally,

Arrived in Plymouth, a North American colony.

It was winter, the climate was cold and the fields were desolate. The local Indians generously took out corn and potatoes stored for the winter.

Wild ducks and turkeys sent to hunt. When spring comes, Indians teach them to grow corn and pumpkins and raise turkeys. White immigrants

The people and Indians have established close friendship. This autumn, there was a bumper harvest of corn, and immigrants held a rich Thanksgiving party with barbecues.

Turkey and tortillas are for Indians. Indians brought all kinds of corn products, roast turkey, pumpkin pie and wild grapes.

Corn syrup attended the party and people were singing and dancing. At the end of 1 1 after corn harvest every year,

White immigrants who settled here hold Thanksgiving parties, roast turkeys, cook corn food and entertain Indians. long

In the past, this kind of gratitude meeting has become a routine. However, the time of Thanksgiving was not decided until 1863.

President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday and called on people to work together for the prosperity of the United States.

Work hard. To commemorate Thanksgiving Day, a huge monument to the pioneers of immigration was built on Somerset Street in Plymouth.

Monument. The ivory ancestor statue is 10 meter high, covered with shawls and finger firmament, depicting Doop on four marble floating women.

The story of Plymouth's first immigrants and the origin of Thanksgiving. Today, corn products are still a necessity to celebrate Thanksgiving.

One of the missing foods.

Christmas:

Christmas is a festival to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the founder of Christianity. According to the Bible, Mary, an unmarried woman, gave birth to Jesus on a winter night because she was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Christians regard the year when Jesus was born as the beginning of the world, that is, the first year of A.D. Now this kind of chronology is widely used in the world, and it is called A.D., which is what we call the Gregorian calendar. There is no record of Jesus' birthday in history. It was not until 354 AD that the Roman Catholic Church designated 65438+February 25th as \ \ \ Christmas Day \ \ \. Why did you choose this day? It turns out that 65438+February 25th every year is Saturnalia, which follows the winter solstice of the lunar calendar, with the shortest day, the longest night and the least sunshine. Since Saturnalia, the days have gradually become longer, the nights have gradually become shorter, the sunshine time has become longer and longer, and the sun has given people more light and warmth. In order to thank the sun for its gift, people often hold various celebrations and bow down to the sun during Saturnalia. Setting Jesus' birthday on the same day as Saturnalia is nothing more than to show that the birth of Jesus is the rebirth of the sun, and Jesus shines on all beings like the sun. Therefore, the birthday of Jesus was created by people.

April Fool's Day:

April 1 day is April Fool's Day every year, which is a traditional folk festival in the West and the United States. April Fool's Day originated in France. 1564, France adopted the newly reformed calendar-Gregorian calendar (the current universal solar calendar) for the first time, with 65438+ 10/as the beginning of the year. However, some old-fashioned people oppose this reform and still stubbornly celebrate the New Year by giving gifts on April 1 day according to the old calendar. Advocates of reform laugh at these old-fashioned practices.

Smart and funny people gave them fake gifts on April 1, invited them to a fake wine party, and called the deceived conservatives "April Fools" or "Fish on the Hook". From then on, people fooled each other on April 1 day, which became a popular custom in France. /kloc-At the beginning of the 8th century, the custom of April Fool's Day spread to Britain, and was later brought to the United States by early British immigrants.

On April Fool's Day, people often organize family gatherings and decorate rooms with daffodils and daisies. The typical traditional practice is to decorate a fake environment, which can decorate the room like Christmas or New Year's Day. When the guests come, it is unique and interesting to congratulate "Merry Christmas" or "Happy New Year".

April 1 fish feast. It is also unique. Invitations to colorful banquets are usually colored fish made of cardboard. The dining table is decorated in green and white. There is a fish tank and a small fishing rod in the middle. Each fishing rod is tied with a green ribbon and hung with a gift for the guests-either a delicate celluloid fish or a fish basket full of candy. It goes without saying that all the dishes at the fish feast are made of fish.

There is also the custom of cooking fake dishes at April Fool's Day parties. Someone once described a typical April Fool's Day recipe: first, it was a "salad" with green peppers on the leaves of lettuce, but after uncovering the leaves, it was discovered that it was an oyster cocktail underneath; The second course is "baked potato", in fact, the following is sweet bread crumbs and fresh mushrooms; Since then, there have been roast chicken disguised with crab meat and raspberry ice cream buried under tomato salad. After dinner, guests can also take candy out of the pill box.

However, the most typical activity of April Fool's Day is that everyone plays jokes on each other and plays tricks on each other with lies. Some people tie their wallets to the street with a thin thread and pull the other end in the dark. Once someone finds a wallet, they will suddenly drag it away. Others put bricks under the broken hat in the middle of the road, waiting to see who will kick them. Children will tell their parents that there is a hole in their schoolbags or a black spot on their faces. When adults bend over to see it, they will shout "Happy April Fool's Day". Run away with a smile. In a word, on April Fool's Day, zoos and aquariums will also receive many phone calls to Mr. Yu and Mr. Cheng Leon, which often leads staff to cut off telephone lines in order to reduce trouble.

Today's April Fool's Day is mainly a festival for naughty boys in America.

Valentine's day:

Valentine's Day, also known as Saint Valentine's Day. Originated in ancient Rome, it is held every February 14, and now it has become a favorite festival for young people in Europe and America. There are different opinions about the origin of the name "Saint Valentine's Day". Some people say this is to commemorate the Christian martyr Valentine. He was arrested and imprisoned for resisting the persecution of Christians by Roman rulers, and was sentenced to death on February 14, AD 270. Before the execution, Valentine wrote a letter to the warden's daughter, showing his open heart and feelings for her. Since then, Christianity has designated February 14 as "Valentine's Day".

Easter:

Easter celebrated in church every year refers to the first Sunday after the full moon at the vernal equinox. If the full moon falls on Sunday, Easter will be delayed by one week. So Easter may be any day from March 22nd to April 25th.

Easter is the oldest and most meaningful Christian festival. Because it celebrates the resurrection of Christ, Christians all over the world will celebrate this festival. Easter celebrations begin with lent. Lent lasts exactly forty days from Ash Wednesday to Easter, and it is a day of self-reflection and repentance.

Typical Easter gifts are related to spring and rebirth: eggs, chickens, rabbits, flowers, especially lilies and dates, which are symbols of this season. On Easter Eve, children decorate eggs for friends and family. Some of these eggs are boiled, and some are just empty shells. On Easter morning, children will find that the Easter basket in front of their bed is full of chocolate eggs, Easter rabbits, fluffy chickens and dolls. It is said that the Easter Bunny will hide the eggs indoors or in the grass for children to look for. The annual egg roll in the White House is often broadcast live on TV.

Easter is also a festival to send flowers, bonsai, corsage and other places to people you care about. Many people who go to church also present bouquets to the church on this day. Adults often give each other greeting cards or small gifts. Traditionally, people send live chickens, ducklings, rabbits and so on. Give it to children at Easter, but children are too young to feed these small animals correctly, so you must seriously consider what gifts to give.

Mother's day:

The second Sunday in May is Mother's Day, and celebrations are held all over the world to celebrate the greatness of maternal love.

Perhaps you don't know, the mother's day initiative originated from a Sunday school in Gavton, West Virginia, USA.

1876, the United States is still mourning the victims of the civil war. Anna jarvis teaches Memorial Day in a chapel. After telling the story of the hero who died in the battle, she prayed: "I hope that somewhere and at some time, someone will create a mother's day to commemorate and praise the mothers of the United States and the whole world."

Mrs Chavez has served her church for more than 25 years. When she died at the age of 72, it was 4 1.

Her daughter Anna is determined to create a Mother's Day to realize her mother's wish many years ago.

Anna has written to many celebrities, asking them to support the establishment of Mother's Day to promote filial piety. At first, she was indifferent, but she was not discouraged and continued to appeal to all walks of life.

1907 On May 12, Andre Methodist Church held a week for mothers at the invitation of Anna. The following year, this ceremony was held in Philadelphia and received a warm response. Finally, it won the support of the governor of Victoria and announced the establishment of Mother's Day in the state. The telephone number is 19 10.

Then, many states in the United States, Canada and Mexico successively recognized Mother's Day and held celebrations.

19 14, US President Wilson asked Congress to pass a resolution to make Mother's Day a national holiday, and called on people to "publicly express our love for their mothers". All over the world have followed suit, thus becoming "International Mother's Day".

Anna originally suggested that the date of her mother's death should be May 10, but later, in order to facilitate people to celebrate for their families, she chose the second Sunday in May as Mother's Day.

Father's Day:

The third Sunday in June is Father's Day every year. Like Mother's Day, Father's Day originated in America. 1909, a woman named Dawood spread "Mother's Day" in Washington ... at the same time, she thought of her father. When she was very young, her mother died, and her father had to bear the burden of raising children alone. The past scenes reappeared in her mind. Ms. Dawood deeply felt the necessity of setting up Father's Day. Her appeal to the society aroused people's positive response, and the third Sunday in June was chosen as "Father's Day". 19 10 In June, the United States celebrated the first Father's Day. At that time, everyone whose father was still alive wore a red rose on his chest to show his respect for his father; Those whose fathers died wore white roses to express their infinite memory and sorrow for their fathers.

1927, the President's Office of John Calvin Coolidge approved this festival. Since then, "Father's Day" has been known and passed down by more and more people. Boys and girls, Father's Day is coming. Have you ever thought about giving some gifts to your hardworking father?