THIS IS AMERICA - Behind the Turkey: The Story of Thanksgivi

THIS IS AMERICA - Behind the Turkey: The Story of Thanksgiving
By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: Monday, November 21, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. The story of the Thanksgiving holiday is our report this week.

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VOICE ONE:

This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is celebrated¹ every year on the fourth Thursday of November. The month of November is in autumn, the main season for harvesting crops.

 
Celebrating Thanksgiving
The writer O. Henry called Thanksgiving the one holiday that is purely² American. It is not a religious holiday. But it has spiritual meaning.

Some Americans travel long distances to be with their families. They eat a large dinner, which is the main part of the celebration. For many people, Thanksgiving is the only time when all members of a family gather. The holiday is a time of family reunion.

VOICE TWO:

Alma Scott-Buczak gathers her family for Thanksgiving dinner every year. She welcomes about thirty people to her home in northern New Jersey³, near New York City.

Guests sit at several tables. Children eat together at their own table. Most people who are invited are relatives. But anyone can bring a friend.

Miz Scott-Buczak serves the traditional American Thanksgiving dinner. But she adds a few special foods that are especially popular in some African-American homes, dishes like sweet potato pie and corn pudding.

Before the meal begins, the people all say a few words about what they are most thankful for.

VOICE ONE:

The family of Ismaila Sanghua of Silver Spring, Maryland, also eats a large Thanksgiving dinner. It comes just weeks after their big dinner that celebrated the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, the end of the observance of Ramadan.

Mister⁴ Sanghua was born in Sierra Leone. He says the family began a Thanksgiving tradition because the children, ages nine through sixteen, wanted to celebrate an American holiday.

VOA producer, writer and editor Subhash Vohra was born in India. Mister Vohra has been a journalist there and in Britain and Germany. He says he is pleased to take part in the traditions of places where he lives. He says he, his wife and two daughters have been enjoying an American Thanksgiving holiday meal in this country for many years.

VOICE TWO:

More than twenty Korean young people will eat their first Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday in Washington, D.C. The celebration is for first-year international students at the Wesley Theological Seminary, a graduate school for religious studies. Several students said they are looking forward to learning⁵ about this American custom.

Listen now as the Paul Hillier Singers present an early-American song of thanks, "Give Good Gifts One to Another."

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VOICE ONE:

Joan and Sandy Horwitt of Arlington, Virginia, have been holding a Thanksgiving dinner for almost thirty years. All the guests bring food to share. The Horwitts started this tradition when they moved to Virginia from the Midwest.

They regretted not being able to be with all their family members. But they soon met new friends. So they started a holiday dinner for others who were also unable to travel to family homes for the holiday.

At first, many people brought their babies and young children. Now some of the first guests are grandparents.

Mister and Missus Horwitt serve a turkey as the center of the meal. So do many other Americans. Most people serve it with a cooked bread mixture inside.

VOICE TWO:

 
 
This year, some Americans asked poultry⁶ companies if it all right to eat turkey. These people feared bird flu, a disease⁷ that has struck birds in Asia and Europe. But public officials say no turkeys in the United States have been infected with the deadly kind of avian influenza⁸.

Other traditional Thanksgiving foods served with turkey are potatoes, a cooked fruit called cranberries⁹ and pumpkin¹⁰ pie. Many people eat more at Thanksgiving than at any other time of the year.

Some families serve other meats besides turkey. And some American homes have vegetarian¹¹ Thanksgiving dinners. This means no meat is served.

VOICE ONE:

 
 
Many Americans also help others who might not have had a chance for Thanksgiving dinner. All across America, thousands of religious and service organizations provide holiday meals for old people, the homeless and the poor.

Over the years, Americans have added new traditions to their Thanksgiving celebration. For example, a number of professional and college football games are played on Thanksgiving Day. Some of the games are broadcast on national television.

Many people also like to watch Thanksgiving Day parades on television. Big stores in several cities organize these parades. For example, Macy's has a very famous Thanksgiving Day parade in New York.

 
 
VOICE TWO:

Thanksgiving began with the first European settlers in America. They gathered their crops, celebrated and gave thanks for the food.

Tradition says Pilgrim¹² settlers from England celebrated the first thanksgiving in sixteen twenty-one. There is evidence that settlers in other parts of America held earlier thanksgiving celebrations. But the Pilgrims¹³' thanksgiving story is the most popular.

The Pilgrims were religious dissidents who fled oppression in England. They went first to the Netherlands. Then they left that country to establish a colony¹⁴ in North America. The Pilgrims landed in sixteen twenty in what later became known as Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Their voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was difficult. Their first months in America were difficult, too. About one hundred Pilgrims landed just as autumn was turning to winter. During the cold months that followed, about half of them died.

VOICE ONE:

When spring came, the pilgrims began to plant crops. An American Indian named Squanto helped them. When summer ended, the Pilgrims had a good harvest of corn and barley¹⁵. There was enough food to last through the winter.

The Pilgrims decided¹⁶ to hold a celebration to give thanks for their harvest. Writings from that time say Pilgrim leader William Bradford set a date late in the year. He invited members of a nearby Indian tribe¹⁷ to take part. There were many kinds of food to eat. The meal included wild birds such as ducks, geese and turkeys. That thanksgiving celebration lasted three days.

 
 
Listen as Paul Hillier leads his singers in "The Apple Tree."

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VOICE TWO:

As the American colonies¹⁸ grew, many towns and settlements held thanksgiving or harvest celebrations. Yet it took two hundred fifty years before a national observance was declared.

In the eighteen twenties, a writer named Sarah Josepha Hale began a campaign for an official holiday.

Support for her idea grew slowly. Finally, in eighteen sixty-three, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November as a national holiday of thanksgiving. Later, Congress¹⁹ declared that the holiday would be celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday in November.

VOICE ONE:

As in the past, many Americans will gather on Thursday with family and friends. We will share what we have. And we will give thanks for the good things of the past year.

VOICE TWO:

Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver²⁰. Internet users²¹ can read and listen to our programs at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Faith Lapidus. Please join us again next week for another report about life in the United States, on THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

We leave you now as the Boston Pops Orchestra²² and chorus²³ perform "Prayer of Thanksgiving."

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1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 purely   

adv.纯粹地，完全地

参考例句：

• I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。
• This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

5 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

6 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

7 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

8 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

9 cranberries   

n.越橘( cranberry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The tart flavour of the cranberries adds piquancy. 越橘的酸味很可口。
• Look at the fresh cranberries. 你看这些新鲜的蔓越橘。 来自无师自通 校园英语会话

10 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

11 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

12 pilgrim   

n.香客，朝圣者；v.朝圣，参拜圣地，流浪

参考例句：

• They read stories about the Indians and the pilgrim.他们阅读有关印第安人和那些朝圣者的故事。
• But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you.只有一个人爱你那朝圣者的灵魂。

13 pilgrims   

香客，朝圣者( pilgrim的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Muslim pilgrims on their way to Mecca 前往麦加的穆斯林朝圣者
• Many pilgrims knelt piously at the shrine. 许多朝圣者心虔意诚地在神殿跪拜。

14 colony   

n.殖民地；(同类人的)聚居地

参考例句：

• There lived a colony of bees on the tree.树上生活着一群蜜蜂。
• They live in an artists'colony.他们住在艺术家聚居区。

15 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 tribe   

n.部落，种族，一伙人

参考例句：

• This is a subject tribe.这是个受他人统治的部落。
• Many of the tribe's customs and rituals are as old as the hills.这部落的许多风俗、仪式都极其古老。

18 colonies   

n.殖民地( colony的名词复数 )；（侨民等）聚居区；（动植物的）群体；（来自同一地方，职业或兴趣相同的）聚居人群

参考例句：

• They amassed huge wealth by plundering the colonies. 他们通过掠夺殖民地聚敛了大笔的财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small farms and self-sufficiency. 但就整个殖民地来说，人们主要依靠小型农场，过着自给自足的生活。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

19 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

20 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

21 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

22 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

23 chorus   

n.合唱，合唱队，齐声

参考例句：

• Never before have I heard this song sung in chorus.我从来没有听过这首歌的合唱。
• The children repeated the words after her in chorus.孩子们跟她齐声朗读单词。