新编大学英语 1 Unit 4 背景知识之 origin of holidays.docVIP

The Origin of Holidays holiday has many origin stories. 新年New Years Day Like many people all over the world, Americans enjoy celebrating the arrival of each new year. Almost everyone makes an occasion of New Years Eve in order to see the old year out and welcome the new one. In New York, a favorite gathering place on December 31 is New York Citys Times Square. Thousands of Americans and international tourists crowd this famous spot (at the intersection of Broadway and Seventh Avenue) and crane their necks to watch for Happy New Year to flash across the electronically controlled sign that moves around. When the moment arrives bedlam breaks forth. Bells ring, whistles blow, people cheer with their happy excitement.  愚人节 All Fools Day, also known as April Fools Day, is celebrated annually on the first day of April. It is a time for the traditional playing of pranks upon unsuspecting people...the victim of such a prank being called an April Fool. The origins of this custom are somewhat uncertain, but may have initially been related to the arrival of Spring in late March, at which time Mother Nature is said to fool the human race with sudden and fickle changes in the weather...showers one minute and sunshine the next. The playing of practical jokes, however, dates back to Ancient Rome and such activities were an integral part of the Hilaria celebrations held on March 25, a celebration which would again appear to be associated with the coming of Spring and the Vernal Equinox, held to honor the resurrection of Attis, Roman God of Vegetation who was linked to the seasonal cycle. In England, an ancient legend states that April Fools Day commemorates the fruitless mission of the Rook (or European Crow) which was sent out in search of land from Noahs flood-encircled ark.  感恩节 Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated in much of North America, generally observed as an expression of gratitude, usually to God. The most common view of its origin is that it was to give t