Festivals

Thanksgiving in Chinese

感恩节 (gǎn’ēnjié) is the Chinese phrase for Thanksgiving. Although traditionally people in China don’t celebrate Thanksgiving Day, now many young people do. They want to express thankfulness to all people who have helped them. The common Chinese saying “滴水之恩, 当涌泉相报 (Dī shuǐ zhī ēn dāng yǒnɡ quán xiāng bào)” Help me with a drop of water, I will return the whole spring, has taken root in Chinese people’s minds and hearts. So on this day, young people will give thanks to their parents who give them lives and help them grow Students will be grateful to their teachers who taught them knowledge and skills. Friends will send each other thank-you note for they have 互相帮助 (hùxiāng bāngzhù) mutually helped and 互相照顾 (hùxiāng zhàogù) taken care of each other.

The phrase “滴水之恩, 当涌泉相报 (Dī shuǐ zhī ēn, dāng yǒng quán xiāng bào) Help me with a drop, I will return the whole spring.” is very famous and useful in China. 滴 (dī) refers to a drop; 水 (shuǐ) refers to water; 恩 (ēn) means debt of gratitude. 当 (dāng) means should; 涌 (yǒng) means pouring; 之 (zhī) is an auxiliary word to express a kind of relationship 泉 (quán) refers to spring; 相 (xiāng) means each other and mutually; 报 (bào) means reciprocating. And now many people will send text messages on their mobile phones to bless for each other.

1. Gǎnxiè nǐ, wúlùn shénme shíhou, zǒng yǒu nǐ zài wǒ shēnbiān gěi wǒ zhīchí yǔ lìliàng.
感谢你，无论什么时候，总有你在我身边给我支持与力量。

   
Thank you! You are always here to support and encourage me at any time.

2. Qīn’ài de bàba māma, wǒ zuì xūyào gǎnxiè de rén jiù shì nǐmen, xièxiè nǐmen gěile wǒ shēngmìng, bìng yǎngyù wǒ zhǎngdà.
亲爱的爸爸妈妈，我最需要感谢的人就是你们。谢谢你们给了我生命，并养育我长大！
Dear mother and father, the one I want to thank most is you. Thank you for giving me life and bringing me up.

感恩 (gǎn’ēn): n to give thanks to

互相 (hùxiāng): adv mutually  

帮助 (bāngzhù): v/n to help/help

照顾 (zhàogù): v/n to take care of/care   

支持 (zhīchí): v/n to support/support    

养育 (yǎngyù): v to bring up