매년 11월 마지막 목요일은 미국의 최대 명절 중 하나인 추수감사절입니다. 이날 미국인들은 가족, 친구들과 칠면조 요리를 먹습니다.
조지 부시 미국 대통령은 주간 라디오 연설에서 대통령으로서 마지막 추수감사절을 보내는 소감을 밝히고, 미 국민들에게 감사를 전했습니다.
부시 대통령은 "지난 8년 동안 수많은 사람들이 내게 전한 선의와 다정한 말, 진심 어린 기도에 대해 감사한다"면서 "내가 이같이 예의 바르고, 용감하고, 다정한 사람들을 대표할 수 있었던 것은 축복이었으며, 나는 언제나 이 점에 대해 감사하고 명예롭게 생각할 것"이라고 말했습니다.
Millions of Americans are celebrating the annual Thanksgiving Day holiday today (Thursday)with a traditional feast with friends and family.
Thanksgiving, which is held in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November, is one of the biggest travel weekends of the year. The holiday is centered on a meal usually including turkey or ham, squash, cranberry dressing, and pumpkin pie.
The U.S. space agency NASA says even the astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut aboard the International Space Station will celebrate the holiday with a special freeze-dried meal of the traditional foods.
In addition to the feast, many Americans spend the day watching nationally televised events such as New York City's annual Thanksgiving Day parade (sponsored by Macy's department store), a national dog show, and football games.
Friday after Thanksgiving is seen as the official start to the holiday-shopping season, with many stores opening early for the rush of shoppers.
The United States has officially observed Thanksgiving since 1863, although the first Thanksgiving is believed to have taken place in 1621.
That year, British colonists at the Plymouth settlement in what is now (the northeastern U.S. state of) Massachusetts held a feast with a Native American tribe (the Wampanaog), who taught the colonists how to grow food and hunt for game in their new home.