感恩節那天進行的巡遊儀式大概始於林肯總統時期，而且這天被宣佈為法定節日。隆重的巡遊儀式是顯示國家軍事力量和嚴明紀律的一個方式，但這樣的巡遊主要目的是振奮國人，為大眾提供一個積極健康的娛樂活動。現代的巡遊活動還加入音樂節目，眾多名人也參與其中。
【感恩節由來介紹英文】
Thanksgiving Day in America is a time to offer thanks, of family gatherings and holiday meals.
A time of turkeys, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. A time for Indian corn, holidayparades and giant balloons.
在美國，感恩節是一個感謝恩賜，家庭團聚，閤家歡宴的日子;是一個家家餐桌上都有火雞、填料、南瓜餡餅的日子;是一個充滿了印第安玉米、假日遊行和巨型氣球的日子。
The Pilgrims who sailed tothis country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the EnglishSeparatist Church (a Puritan sect).
They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religiouspersecution.
There, they enjoyed more religious tolerance, but they eventuallybecame disenchanted with the Dutch way of life, thinking it ungodly.
Seeking abetter life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to financea pilgrimage to America.
Most of those making the trip aboard the Mayflowerwere non-Separatists, but were hired to protect the company's interests. Onlyabout one-third of the original colonists were Separatists.
乘 “五月花”來到這個國度的旅行者(朝聖者)原本是英國分離者地下教會清教徒，他們的家在英國，因不堪忍受國內的宗教迫害，他們逃亡到荷蘭。
在荷蘭，他們享受了更多的宗教信仰自由，但最終卻意識到在荷蘭的這種生活方式是對他們的主的褻瀆。為了尋求更好的生活，他們與倫敦貿易公司協商，由該公司資助他們到美國。
在這趟旅途中，船上只有大約1/3的乘客是清教徒，其他大多數人並非分離派清教徒，而是公司僱傭來保護其利益的人員(契約奴)。
The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock onDecember 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating.
At the beginning of thefollowing fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on theMayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one.
And the remainingcolonists decided to celebrate with a feast ——including 91 Indians who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year.
Itis believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year withoutthe help of the natives.
The feast was more of a traditional English harvestfestival than a true “thanksgiving” observance. It lasted three days.
1620年 12月11日，旅行者們在“普利茅斯石”登陸。他們的第一個冬季是災難性的，第二年秋天來臨時，原來的102名乘客只剩下56人。
但1621年他們獲得了大豐收，這些倖存的殖民者們決定和幫助他們度過困難的91名印第安人一起饗宴慶祝。
他們相信，若沒有當地居民的幫助，他們是不可能度過這一年的。這次節日的盛宴不僅僅是一個“感恩”儀式，它更像英國傳統的豐收慶典。慶典持續了三天。
Governor William Bradford sent “four men fowling” after wild ducks andgeese.
It is not certain that wild turkey was part of their feast. However, itis certain that they had venison.
The term “turkey” was used by the Pilgrims to mean any sort of wild fowl.
總督佈雷德福派了“四人捕鳥隊”去捕捉野鴨和野鵝。我們現在並不能確定是否有野生火雞在當時的筵席上，但筵席上肯定有鹿肉。當時，朝聖者用“火雞”一詞來代表各種野禽。
Another modern staple at almost every Thanksgivingtable is pumpkin pie. But it is unlikely that the first feast included thattreat. The supply of flour had been long diminished, so there was no bread orpastries of any kind.
However, they did eat boiled pumpkin, and they produced atype of fried bread from their corn crop. There was also no milk, cider,potatoes, or butter.
There was no domestic cattle for dairy products, and thenewly-discovered potato was still considered by many Europeans to be the feast did include fish, berries, watercress, lobster, dried fruit,clams, venison, and plums.
現在，幾乎每家感恩節餐桌上都有南瓜餡餅――感恩節的另一種主食。但在當年的第一次慶典上卻不可能有這種食品。因為麵粉奇缺，所以麵包、餡餅、糕點等食物都沒有。
但他們卻吃了煮南瓜，並用收穫的玉米制成了一種油炸麵包。也沒有牛奶、蘋果酒、土豆和黃油。
沒有馴養的奶牛，自然沒有牛奶;而新發現的土豆被很多歐洲人認為是有毒的。第一次慶典上有魚、草莓、豆瓣菜、龍蝦、乾果、蛤、鹿肉、李子等。
This “thanksgiving” feast was not repeated the following year. But in 1623, during asevere drought, the pilgrims gathered in a prayer service, praying for rain.
When a long, steady rain followed the very next day, Governor Bradfordproclaimed another day of Thanksgiving, again inviting their Indian friends. Itwasn't until June of 1676 that another Day of Thanksgiving was proclaimed.
緊接著的第二年(1622)卻沒有舉行“感恩”慶典。到了1623年，發生了一場嚴重的旱災，朝聖者們聚集到一起，舉行了虔誠的祁雨儀式，剛好在第二天，一場充沛的大雨從天而降。威廉佈雷德福總督宣佈再次慶祝感恩節，並再次邀請了他們的印第安朋友。
之後數年無感恩節，直到1676年6月，感恩節才再次被提出。
On June 20, 1676, the governing council ofCharlestown, Massachusetts, held a meeting to determine how best to expressthanks for the good fortune that had seen their community securely unanimous vote they instructed Edward Rawson, the clerk, to proclaim June 29as a day of thanksgiving.
It is notable that this thanksgiving celebrationprobably did not include the Indians, as the celebration was meant partly to bein recognition of the colonists' recent victory over the “heathen natives”.
【加拿大感恩節】
加拿大感恩節的慶祝活動是在十月的第二個星期一。與美國人緬懷清教徒先輩定居新大陸的傳統不同，加拿大人主要感謝上天給予的成功的收穫。加拿大的感恩節早於美國的感恩節，一個簡單的事實是，加拿大的收穫季節相對於美國早一些，因為加拿大更靠近北部。加拿大的感恩節通常被認為受三個傳統習慣的影響。
其一是來自歐洲傳統的影響。從大約2000年以前最早的一次收穫開始，人們就已經慶祝豐收，感謝富饒的大自然給予他們的恩施和好運。當歐洲人來到加拿大後，也將這一傳統帶入加拿大，並對後來加拿大感恩節的傳統產生影響。
其二是英國探險家慶祝生存的影響。在清教徒登陸美國馬薩諸塞的40年之前，加拿大就舉行了第一個正式的感恩節。在1578年，一位英國探險家命名馬釘法貝瑟(Martin Frobisher)試圖發現一個連線東方的`通道，不過他沒有成功。
但是他在現今的加拿大紐芬蘭省建立了定居點，並舉行了一個慶祝生存和收穫的宴餐。其它後來的移居者繼續這些“感恩”儀式。這一次被認為是加拿大的第一個感恩節。
其三的影響來自於後來的美國。1621年的秋天，遠涉重洋來到美洲新大陸的英國移民，為了感謝上帝賜予的豐收，舉行了3天的狂歡活動。從此，這一習俗就沿續下來，並逐漸風行各地。在美國革命其間，美國一批忠於英皇室的保皇黨遷移到加拿大，也將美國感恩節的習慣和方式帶到了加拿大。
1750年慶祝豐收的活動被來自美國南部的移居者帶到了新四科舍(Nova Scotia)，同時，法國移居者到達，並且舉行“感恩”宴餐。這些均對加拿大的感恩節產生了深遠的影響。
1879 年加拿大議會宣稱11月6日是感恩節和全國性的假日。在隨後的年代，感恩節的日期改變了多次，直到在1957 年1月31日，加拿大議會宣佈每年十月的第二個星期一為感恩節，在這一天感謝萬能的上帝保佑加拿大並給予豐富的收穫。
