Celebrating Food and Family

Celebrating Food and Family. Written by Vera Ogden Baker.

赞颂美食与阖家团圆。 作者：薇拉·奥格登·贝克。

Introduction. People around the world celebrate the harvest season, a time when the crops are ready to be gathered and eaten or stored for the year ahead. In the United States, people celebrate the harvest in November. This celebration is called Thanksgiving.

引言。 全世界的人们都会庆祝丰收季，这个时节庄稼都已成熟，可以采摘食用或是储存起来供来年使用。 在美国，人们会在十一月庆祝丰收。 这个庆祝活动叫做感恩节。

Evan's family goes to Grandma's house. They feast on foods such as turkey and pumpkin pie. Family members tell what they are thankful for, and Grandpa tells the story of the first Thanksgiving. After dinner, Evan plays with his cousins.

埃文一家去奶奶家。 他们大快朵颐，吃火鸡、南瓜派之类的美食。 家人们会说出自己心怀感恩的事物， 爷爷还会讲第一个感恩节的故事。 晚饭过后，埃文和表兄弟姐妹们一起玩耍。

YAM Festival. People in West Africa and the South Pacific Islands celebrate the YAM Festival. In early August, them and Shade and their parents gather yams from a Nigerian field. It is the end of the rainy season there. Yams are the most common food in these regions and the first crop to be harvested in Nigeria.

山药节：西非和南太平洋岛屿的人们会庆祝山药节。 八月初，本和谢德跟父母在尼日利亚的田地里采收山药。 那里的雨季刚结束。 山药是这些地区最常见的食物，也是尼日利亚最先采收的作物。

The night before the festival begins, the children help throw out any yams left over from last year. They scrub all the pots, especially the wooden bowls in which cooked yams are mashed.

节日开始前一晚，孩子们帮忙把去年剩下的山药都丢掉。 他们把所有锅具都刷洗干净，尤其要刷干净用来捣熟山药的木碗。

The next morning, they offer the freshly harvested yams to the gods and their ancestors in special ceremonies. This is the way they thank the spirits for a good crop. No one eats any new yams until this is done. After the ceremonies, yams are divided among the villagers. Everyone cooks dishes made with yams and other vegetables. The festival lasts many days in Bem and Shaday's village.

第二天早上，他们会在特殊仪式上把刚采收的新鲜山药供奉给神明和祖先。 他们用这种方式感谢神灵赐予他们好收成。 仪式结束前，谁都不能吃新收的山药。 仪式结束后，山药会分给所有村民。 大家都会用山药和其他蔬菜做各种菜肴。 在本和谢德的村子里，这个节日会持续好多天。