thanksgiving falls on the fourth thursday of november, a different date every year. the president must proclaim that date as the official celebration.

　　thanksgiving is a time for tradition and sharing. even if they live far away, family members gather for a reunion at the house of an older relative. all give thanks together for the good things that they have.

　　in this spirit of sharing, civic groups and charitable organizations offer a traditional meal to those in need, particularly the homeless. on most tables throughout the united states, foods eaten at the first thanksgiving have become traditional.

　　symbols of thanksgiving

　　turkey, corn, pumpkins and cranberry sauce(酸果曼沙司)are symbols which represent the first thanksgiving. now all of these symbols are drawn on holiday decorations and greeting cards. the use of corn meant the survival of the colonies. "indian corn" as a table or door decoration represents the harvest and the fall season.

　　sweet-sour cranberry sauce, or cranberry jelly, was on the first thanksgiving table and is still served today. the cranberry is a small, sour berry. it grows in bogs(沼泽), or muddy areas, in massachusetts and other new england states. the indians used the fruit to treat infections. they used the juice to dye their rugs and blankets. they taught the colonists how to cook the berries with sweetener(甜味佐料)and water to make a sauce. the indians called it "ibimi" which means "bitter berry." when the colonists saw it, they named it "crane-berry" because the flowers of the berry bent the stalk over, and it resembled the long-necked bird called a crane. the berries are still grown in new england.

　　in 1988, a thanksgiving ceremony of a different kind took place at the cathedral of st. john the divine. more than four thousand people gathered on thanksgiving night. among them were native americans representing tribes from all over the country and descendants of people whose ancestors had migrated to the new world.

　　the ceremony was a public acknowledgment of the indians` role in the first thanksgiving 350 years ago. until recently most schoolchildren believed that the pilgrims cooked the entire thanksgiving feast, and offered it to the indians. in fact, the feast was planned to thank the indians for teaching them how to cook those foods. without the indians, the first settlers would not have survived.