Immigrants Interpret America's Thanksgiving Celebration

By Faiza Elmasry

Americans often date the nation's annual Thanksgiving holiday back to a feast held nearly 400 years ago, when English settlers in what is now Massachusetts gathered together to thank God for their successful harvest and for the freedoms and opportunities available in what they called "the new world." Today, new settlers to America are celebrating their own versions of Thanksgiving, as they also give thanks for food, freedom and opportunity.

Chinese American Wan-Lee remembers her first Thanksgiving, more than 15 years ago, as an amazing experience. She was an exchange student, and her American host family invited her to join their Thanksgiving dinner. "I had never had any Thanksgiving before I came to America...so it was a very striking experience for me. First, everybody around the table held hands, include of me of course. I had never been holding hands with a lot of so-called foreigners. They said prayers. It was a very warm feeling, when all the family came together. I was part of their family. To me, it was the first time I learned that Thanksgiving is about family."

The chance to get together with family and friends also appeals to Manal Ezat, a 40-year-old Egyptian American. "It's a good chance for us to get together and create our own second family away from our original families. And it's an opportunity of course to thank God for all the blessings 1 He has provided us with here, in our homes and with our families."

Celebrating Thanksgiving is one of the American traditions Zeba Khadom says she adopted when she emigrated from Afghanistan more than 20 years ago. "It means a lot to me. Because I was raised in a society which is very traditional, and in a family that believes in good traditions. Traditions make the society and family stronger. I like Thanksgiving because this is the time that people can sit together and share ideas."

For Haitian American Ronald Cesar who came here two decades ago, going to church is an important part of Thanksgiving Day. "We go to a church service on that day because this is one of the most cherished holidays for us Haitian Americans. Remember, we come from a troubled land. Haiti always has some kind of political problems, one after another. And here we are in this homeland, benefiting from all the freedoms this country has to offer, all the opportunities."

The traditional Thanksgiving dinner includes dishes like mashed 2 potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, cranberry 3 sauce, pumpkin 4 pie and, of course, the centerpiece turkey. People of different ethnic 5 backgrounds say it is easy to both prepare and combine with recipes from their native cuisine 6.

"Usually we cook turkey. I prepare it the American way. The only thing I add is my own spice, the Haitian spice."

"I like fish, shrimp 7 or lobster 8 on top of the traditional Thanksgiving menu."

"I start with the turkey, the stuffing, and the trimmings and of course add our basic rice dish that always has to be on the table."

"I cook Afghani food like qabli palau, mantoo, and sabze chalou on top of the turkey and other things."

There is something about Thanksgiving dinner that makes it appealing to people of all ethnic groups. According to sharp cooking instructors 9, Jill Prescott, "It's very adaptable 10 because everybody, I think, loves poultry 11. Potatoes and poultry are very universal. People have their own adaptation of how to do the turkey and the stuffing is very universal as well. And it's that wonderful diversity about this country that allows us to have those extra wonderful recipes." The ritual of eating together, Jill Prescott says--just like saying prayers at Thanksgiving dinner--is an important expression of gratitude 12 for the opportunity to enjoy the good harvest and the good company.
注释：
feast 节日，盛宴
cherished 珍爱的
Haitian 海地的
mashed potatoes 土豆泥
sweet potato 甘薯
cranberry sauce 酸果曼沙司
centerpiece 餐桌中央的摆饰
cuisine 烹调风格
lobster 龙虾
stuffing 填塞料
trimming 清理缝隙
poultry 家禽
gratitude 感谢的心情