Thanksgiving : Filled with family traditions and food_异域风
this thursday is thanksgiving day. this is the 143rd official observance of the holiday. but the tradition is much older. thanksgiving is an autumn harvest festival like those found in many cultures.
today the holiday is a time of family reunions , parades and watching football games on television. and, oh yes, food. for millions of americans, thanksgiving is a day spent cooking, eating and talking.
thanksgiving is what the social scientists call a civil holiday. it is not religious but it does have spiritual meaning. for some families, thanksgiving may be the only time of year when everyone gets together. the government says the sunday after thanksgiving is the busiest day of the year for long-distance travel as people return from gatherings.
paul hillier leads the theatre of voices in a traditional shaker song, "give good gifts to one another." the recording is from the album "home to thanksgiving -- songs of thanks and praise."
thanksgiving is also when thoughts start to turn to other kinds of gifts. the friday after thanksgiving is the traditional start of the shopping season for christmas and the other winter holidays.
and speaking of traditions, a popular thanksgiving tradition is the macy's thanksgiving day parade in new york city. employees of the huge macy's department store on herald square organized the first parade in 1924. many of them wanted to hold a big parade like the ones in old world europe. so they dressed in costumes and borrowed some animals from the zoo. they also carried small balloons that floated just overhead.
a few years later came big balloons, the kind that the parade is famous for. but they burst. the parade planners soon learned better ways to control the balloons.
in nineteen thirty-four, a big mickey mouse balloon made of rubber appeared in the parade for the first time. mickey mouse remains a popular character in the parade.
but for three years during world war two, the macy's thanksgiving day parade had to be cancelled. the military needed rubber for the war effort.
two and one-half million people are expected on the streets of manhattan this thursday to watch the parade. millions more will see it on television. and, as always, there will be lots of things to see, including eight hundred performing clowns.
but all eyes will be on the huge balloons that will rise almost fifteen meters above the streets. many of the balloons are based on popular cartoon and game characters. plans call for the balloons to be filled with helium gas on wednesday.
workers control the balloons with ropes, but that can be difficult. they have to make sure that winds do not blow the balloons into buildings or parade-watchers. but accidents can happen. there have been two in recent years.
last year, ropes from a big balloon caught on a streetlight. two sisters were injured when pieces of the streetlight fell on them as they watched the parade.
the accident was similar to what happened in 1997. the victim was a woman on the street. she was injured so badly that she was in a coma for almost a month. but she survived.
and just last month that same woman, kathleen caronna, had something else to be thankful for. she was not home when a small plane hit the manhattan building where she lived. her apartment was heavily damaged, and the crash killed both people on the plane.
after the balloon incident last year, new york mayor michael bloomberg appointed a committee to improve the safety of the parade. this year, more steps will be taken to measure the wind and to report the information to the balloon controllers.
the macy's thanksgiving day parade is marking its 80th anniversary this year. the parade traditionally includes invited marching bands. but now, in addition, the parade will have its own marching band.
two hundred musicians and dancers will take part in what is called the macy's great american marching band. the young musicians will represent all fifty states and the district of columbia.
now we come to the part of the holiday that thanksgiving memories are often made of -- the big thanksgiving day meal. some families serve ham. others serve a meatless dinner. but the traditional main dish is turkey. most people cook the bird in an oven; some prepare the turkey other ways, like fried in oil.
turkey on thanksgiving is usually served with a bread mixture inside. some americans call it stuffing; others call it dressing. popular side dishes on thanksgiving include cranberries, sweet potatoes and green beans. then for a rich, sweet dessert there is often pumpkin pie or pecan pie.
many thanksgiving tables also are heavy with other dishes
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