今天是美国人的感恩节(Thanksgiving Day)。
在这一天,他们要吃火鸡,还要感谢所有的人。
常怀一颗感恩的心,成为美国人的一种宗教情结,也是西方最常见的“心灵鸡汤”。
为什么要吃火鸡，是因为1620年著名的“五月花”号船满载不堪忍受英国国内宗教迫害的清教徒102人到达美洲。1620年和1621年之交的冬天，他们遇到了难以想象的困难，处在饥寒交迫之中，差点冻饿而死，幸亏得到了印第安人馈赠的火鸡，才捱过那个寒冷的冬天。
中国人虽生性喜欢吃鸡，尤其是广东人:无鸡不成席，但中国人对感恩节却没有什么感觉。很多组织想在企业文化中涂一点感恩的色彩，最终都弄得一塌糊涂。
这些年以来，我们对任何事情都习以为常了：
黄天厚土特别眷顾中国人，我们的经济一路高歌，只会迎头向上，从不疲软；
天恩浩荡无边，经济学家去年还断言股市只涨不跌，股指20000点还不是头。
我们把一切都视为理所当然：
父母抚育儿女，儿女大学毕业了还要“啃老”，因为父母上辈子欠了我们的；
索取无度，仿佛大自然欠我们的；
有的企业家从银行贷了款，扣除公关费便视为利润，因为从贷款那天起就没有想着要还。
其实古代中国是一个非常彬彬有礼，十分重视感恩的国度：
父子有亲、君臣有义、夫妇有别、长幼有序、朋友有信 -------
十年修得同船渡,百年修得共枕眠,就连一夜夫妻都念念不忘百日恩情。
当代中国人为什么忽视感恩了,是因为我们把感恩的成本提得太高了:
滴水之恩,当涌泉相报。
投我以木瓜，报之以琼瑶。
道德成本太高，
再加上不良商家常开出无法兑现的回报：今日借君一滴水，明日还君一桶油。
以至于大家不敢提感恩。
环球同此凉热，在这个美国的感恩节。
让我们量力而行，常怀感恩之心，哪怕是一句谢谢。
THANKS FOR ALL
Thanksgiving Day 感恩节的英文介绍
Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national Holidays in the United States and is most closely connected with the earliest history of the country.
In 1620， the settlers， or Pilgrims， they sailed to America on the May flower， seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship. After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed at in icy November， what is now Plymouth， Massachusetts.
During their first winter， over half of the settlers died of starvation or epidemics. Those who survived began sowing in the first spring.
All summer long they waited for the harvests with great anxiety， knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colony depended on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yield rich beyond expectations. And therefore it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed. Years later， President of the United States proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day every year. The celebration of Thanksgiving Day has been observed on that date until today.
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.
Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffed with a bread dressing 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 the precise kind of stuffing for the royal bird.
Thanksgiving today is， in every sense， a national annual holiday on which Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express their thanks for the year' s bounty and reverently ask for continued blessings.