在第一个冬天，半数以上的移民都死于饥饿和传染病，活下来的人们在第一个春季开始播种。整个夏天他们都热切地盼望着丰收的到来，他们深知自己的生存以及殖民地的存在与否都将取决于即将到来的收成。后来，庄稼获得了意外的丰收，所以大家决定要选一个日子来感谢上帝的恩典。多年以后，美国总统宣布每年十一月的第四个星期四为感恩节。感恩节庆祝活动便定在这一天，直到如今。

The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changed through the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. On the dinner table， people will find apples，oranges，chestnuts，walnuts and grapes. There will be plum pudding， mince pie， other varieties of food and cranberry juice and squash. The best and most attractive among them are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the most traditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.

感恩节庆祝模式许多年来从未改变。丰盛的家宴早在几个月之前就开始着手准备。人们在餐桌上可以吃到苹果、桔子、栗子、胡桃和葡萄，还有葡萄干布丁、碎肉馅饼、各种其它食物以及红莓苔汁和鲜果汁，其中最妙和最吸引人的大菜是烤火鸡和番瓜馅饼，这些菜一直是感恩节中最富于传统意义和最受人喜爱的食品。

Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a bread dressing[3] to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts. But as cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives，it is not easy to get a consensus on[4] the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird.