感恩节大家会上哪儿聚会呢？外国朋友说，感恩节才不是用来聚会的呢，是像咱的中秋元宵一样的，全家团聚在一起吃饭的家庭大集会！在餐桌上，很多时候都能看到长得像蛋筒一样的“cornucopia”，是专门用来放水果的，非常有特色吧。

　　不过和咱喜欢吃一顿丰盛的晚餐不一样，美国人通常是把重头戏放在午餐的时候。下午的时候就是全家一起看看电视聊聊天，或者去家里的backyard打打橄榄球之类的家族活动啦。

　　FoodThe first image that comes to mind when people think about Thanksgiving is a big, fat turkey. Turkeys are indeed enormous; the average Thanksgiving turkey is 15 pounds, or 6.8 kilograms. (This means that people have to eat turkey sandwiches for weeks after Thanksgiving!) The meal, often held in the late afternoon, also includes mashed potatoes with gravy, bread rolls, stuffing (which can be cooked inside the turkey), cranberry sauce, sweet corn, and other seasonal vegetables like sweet potato and green beans. For dessert, pumpkin pie is most popular, although many families enjoy other kinds of pie as well, such as apple pie, pecan pie or blueberry pie.

　　当然啦，一说起感恩节，虎虎的脑中就浮现出一只鸵鸟大小的动物（火鸡不是鸵鸟啊！）。好想吃火鸡啊，嘴都馋了……不过说起来，为什么感恩节要吃火鸡呢？一位外国美女告诉了小编一个简单易懂的原因：因为……火鸡多……这让小编不由得想起，万圣节感恩节都吃南瓜难道也是因为南瓜多么！）此外，火鸡在美国还被称为“Tom Turkey”哦，因为据说公火鸡的名字就叫做Tom……世上千千万万的Tom啊该是高兴还是悲哀呢。

　　ActivitiesAfter the meal, families relax and spend time together, sometimes watching American football games or Thanksgiving Day parades on television. Thanksgiving is also a time to volunteer or donate your time and money to charities. As people reflect on the blessings in their lives, they are inspired to help those who may be going through difficult times. Many churches and community organizations hold free dinners where people volunteer to buy, cook and serve the food. People also organize "food drives" where canned and packaged food is donated, collected and given to those in need. Also, companies and organizations can hold charity events, where employees, friends and families can pay to attend a dinner or dance and all of the money is donated to a charity.

　　说起为何感恩节的聚餐会选择放在中午，外国朋友告诉小编说，因为这时候正好是美国的football season啦，所以吃完午饭全家会坐在电视机前一起看球赛。

　　此外，在感恩节这天，很多教堂会组织聚会，志愿者们会准备烹饪食物，即使是那些并没有宗教信仰的人，或者任何由于经济原因没有办法欢度节日的人，都可以来到教堂，和所有人济济一堂共度这个节日哦。如此一来“志愿者”就是非常重要的一个组成部分了。在美国，如果你说自己没有参加过志愿者活动的话，人家可能会偷偷地用BS的眼神看着你说“啊，这样啊。”

　　最后要说的就是募捐（donation）啦，虽然在平时也会有各种募捐活动，但是感恩节这一天会格外地热闹呢。对于美国人来说，“thanksgiving”，相较于“thanks”，它的意义更大的是在“giving”上面。