Celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year, Nov 28 this year, Thanksgiving Day is a time for communal thanksgiving and lavish feasts. It’s about expressing your gratitude to the important people and all the good things in your life.

每年11月的第四个星期四是感恩节，今年是11月28日。感恩节是一个全民感恩、享用盛宴的时刻。在这一天，你要向生命中最重要的人、最美好的事物表达感恩之情。

Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with much fervor and maintain many traditional customs. Here we introduce a few of the rituals Americans typically follow on this day.

美国人十分看重感恩节，并传承了许多传统风俗。下面，就来为大家介绍一些美国人庆祝感恩节的传统风俗。

Time for prayers and paying back

祝福与感恩的时刻

Thanksgiving Day has been associated with communal prayers in church and in homes for centuries. Attending church prayer services in the morning is the first step of many celebrators on Thanksgiving Day. The churches provide worship services and organize special events for the occasion.

数百年来，每到感恩节人们都会聚集在教堂或家里祈祷。早晨去教堂参加祷告仪式是许多人庆祝感恩节的第一个节目。教堂会举行礼拜仪式并组织感恩节特别活动。

Before Thanksgiving meals, some families gather together and read prayers to thank God for his kindness and the gifts he has bestowed upon them in the form of friends and family.

在享用感恩节大餐前，有的家庭会齐聚一堂向上帝祷告，感谢它的仁慈，感谢它恩赐给我们家人与朋友。

Some people also do voluntary community work on this day, as a way of paying back.

还有一些人选择在这一天去做社区义工，以示感恩。

Family reunions and showing gratitude

团圆与感恩

Like China’s Spring Festival, preparing a big meal and bringing the family together at home is a long-standing tradition of Thanksgiving. Distances don’t really matter as relatives return home to be with their family, no matter how far away.

和中国的春节一样，准备大餐和举家团聚是感恩节的悠久传统。距离不是问题，无论多远，亲人们都会赶回家与家人团聚。

Undoubtedly, turkey is the main course of Thanksgiving dinner. Though there is no evidence to prove that turkey was eaten during the first Thanksgiving dinner, most agree that the dinner would be incomplete without it. A survey conducted by the US’ National Turkey Federation in 2012 shows that 91 percent of Americans eat turkey and more than 306 million kilograms of turkey are consumed on Thanksgiving Day.

毫无疑问，火鸡是这顿节日大餐的重头戏。尽管尚无证据表明第一顿感恩节的餐桌上是否有火鸡的踪影，但大多数人都赞同没有火鸡的感恩节大餐是不完整的。根据美国国家火鸡联盟2012年的调查数据显示，在感恩节这一天，91%的美国家庭都会享用火鸡，总量超过3.06亿公斤。

Other dishes typically found on dinner tables in almost every house are pumpkin pies, corn, fall vegetables, olives, cranberry sauce, stuffing and mashed potatoes. At the meal, many families observe the ritual of taking turns to express what each member is thankful for.

家家户户餐桌上常见的菜品还有南瓜派、玉米、秋季时令蔬菜、橄榄、蔓越莓果酱、火鸡填料和土豆泥。餐桌上，很多家庭会遵守一项惯例：轮流向每位家庭成员表达感谢。