2016-11-25

【Aiden in English】

        China Grace Christian Church, every year, hosts an annual Thanksgiving feast and an hour or so of service. I think everyone going really is sacrificing time, as it takes place on the night of Black Friday. In any case, most of the people here are expecting to have a good time, which is what usually happens every year at these events.

        However, there are many issues with the Thanksgiving traditions that I have. I enjoy football, love the days off of school (really needed), and embrace the beautiful seasonal colors. I cherish the Black Friday shopping massacres- I mean, sprees. I’m also crazy about it… most of the food.

        In modern Chinese culture, parties have food and drinks come first. Sure, everyone wishes for entertainment, but the fun can only be as good as the food is. No offense for the founders of American food, but the eastern Asian cuisine is quite tastier, more diverse, and simply better (subject to bias). Thanksgiving is an amazing excuse for great food, although not necessarily turkey. Before I get into what was put on the table for the feast, I just want to say how much turkey is over-rated. The texture is like a dry, sandpaper, rubbing against the mouth. The meat itself takes a lot of time to soak up flavor and eating anywhere other than the skin or the outer edge is extremely flavorless. Unless carved into thin slices, the meat may not receive the full flavor desired. This makes the full-sized turkeys quite a pain to eat. I don’t understand how Americans eat their turkey, maybe they slaughter it in gravy and cranberry sauce. Neither of which are too healthy. So when the church began the dinner, and everyone patiently went down the buffet line, literally all the children skipped past the turkey bin. I really don’t see this addiction with wild birds. The Chinese culture is open to all animals, and as much as people make fun of this fact, the flavors are diverse. It may just be my opinion since everyone else in school thinks otherwise.

        The dinner was great. Not many people touched the turkey, so by the end of the eating session, it was all that really remained, other than some tofu and cold broccoli. On a day like Thanksgiving, everyone expects great food. Expectations were met today, and the service after was a great way to not only digest food, but also give thanks for what we have. I understand some of the audience are not religious, and they know who they are. It does not mean there is nothing to be thankful for, and so we should all be thankful as well. Sure, nearly all the teens were doing something they probably shouldn’t be doing, yet they all probably knew the message of Thanksgiving and heard it from the countless prayers of thanks.

【红霞译文】

        宾州神州基督教会每年举行一次感恩节晚餐，前后持续个把钟头，想必各位来宾全都心甘情愿牺牲黑色星期五之夜狂购时间聚集于此共度良宵。

        然而这却让我纠结不已，本人酷爱美式足球，珍重放假不上学的日子（求之不得），喜欢秋季缤纷世界，热衷黑色星期五购物血拼—这里当该说成狂欢，我也钟情……多种风味美食。

        对于现代中国文化，吃吃喝喝在聚会中占据举足轻重的地位，民以食为天，没有吃喝谈何快乐，于此我无意诋毁美餐行家角逐实力。东亚饮食不光品味上乘，而且花样繁多，怎么夸都不过分（确有偏见），感恩节让人趁机山海吃喝，虽说未必非吃火鸡不可。在即将享用今晚盛宴之前，我想说句掏心窝子的话，人们爱给火鸡戴高帽，其实它的肉质干燥粗糙磨牙，欲求做得有滋有味，不知要花费多少功夫，靠近表皮的地方还算好吃，其它部位则味同嚼蜡；火鸡被切成小片容易入味，但囫囵个烧烤就很难保证口感一致，这样便没啥嚼头。我弄不清楚美国人使用什么绝招来吃火鸡，莫非把它扔进卤汁蘸得油腻瓷实再拌足酸果蔓酱开胃爽口才肯下咽，可这两种吃法均不利于身体健康，正因如此当教会晚宴开始的时候，大家不紧不慢沿着自助餐桌排成长列，小孩子们对火鸡不屑一顾，我想象不出这年头有谁还爱吃这类野鸟。华夏文化与各种动物有着千丝万缕的联系，人们经常拿动物开涮自寻开心，山珍海味确实独领风骚，也许我孤陋寡闻，对之同学间各有各的说道，智者见智仁者见仁。

        晚餐极其丰盛，倒是没有太多人专吃火鸡，因此最后剩下的东西除了少许豆腐和清凉芥蓝以外非火鸡莫属。感恩节上大家期待珍馐美馔，今天聚会办得不错，接下来当务之急不仅是如何解决消化问题，而且还要感激制作美味佳肴的劳动者，我知道不少读者没有宗教信仰，人各有所取，不管怎样都应心怀感恩，衷心感谢自己所拥有的一切。没错，差不多所有青少年或多或少都在做不该做的事情，但毕竟耳濡目染，对以德报恩的教诲大概还是心知肚明。

相关博文：

2015 Thanksgiving @ CGCC(2015年神州基督教会感恩节)