Halloween

Watch out for the ghosts and goblins! October 31 is Halloween. This is a day and night for fun, tricks, masks, and costumes. Children love this holiday. Many adults have fun, too.

Halloween is an old Celtic holiday. Irish immigrants brought this holiday with them to the United States.

Halloween Costumes

Many people decorate their homes, yards, and doors with Halloween symbols.
Some people make costumes for their children. Older children may make their own costume. You can also buy or rent a costume.

Some schools may have Halloween parades around the schoolyard. Parents come to watch and take pictures. After school, children knock on doors in their neighborhood. When a neighbor opens the door, the children say, “trick or treat!” people give the children small treats such as candy, gum, pencils, raisins, or money. In some neighborhoods, children collect money for UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund.)

Adults can enjoy Halloween too. They may have costume parties. Some people wear a costume to work. Traditional Halloween snacks are apple cider and doughnuts.

Mischief Night

In some cities, the night before Halloween is a night to watch your house. Teens go out to have fun and play tricks on people. Sometimes, their tricks cause serious trouble.

Parents and police work together to stop the mischief many parents tell their children and teenagers to stay at home this night.

Many families decorate their windows, doors, and front yard, with Halloween symbols such as witches, black cats, skeletons, ghosts, graves, bats, owls, scarecrows and jack-o’-lanterns.

The beginning of Thanksgiving Day

On September 16 1620, a ship sailed from England and headed to America. The name of the ship was the Mayflower. There were 102 men, women, and children on the ship, and many of them were Pilgrims.

The Pilgrims wanted to worship God in their own way, but the King of England didn’t allow that. They decided to go to America to worship God as they wished.

On December 21, 1620, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was the beginning of winter, and they didn’t have enough food. Many got sick and died, but the Pilgrims didn’t want to go back to England.

Friendly Native Americans helped the pilgrims. They showed them how to fish and how to plant corn and other vegetables.

By the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims had a lot of food. They were happy and grateful. They decided to have a parade and a big diner to thank God and their Native American friends. They had turkey, fish, corn, and pumpkin. They invited many Native Americans to the dinner. After dinner, the Pilgrims and the Native Americans played games. This is the first Thanksgiving Day.

Election Day

Election Day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. For most people, Election Day is not a holiday from work or school. United States citizens vote on this day. Every four years, they vote for the President and Vice president of the United States. Every six years, they elect senators. Every two years, they elect representatives. On Election Day, many people also vote for city and state leaders.

Polls are usually in schools, churches, and public buildings. On Election Day, polls are open from very early in the morning until 6:00 or 7:00 in the evening. People go to polling places near their homes. Person use a machine to vote and always vote by secret ballot.

Today all United States citizens 18 and older can vote if they want to. But years ago, it was different. Women and African Americans did not have the right to vote. In 1871, black men received the right to vote. But many African Americans could not vote because of sate laws about voting. For example, if people could not read or write, they could not vote in some states. These laws were very unfair.

In 1920, American women received the right to vote. In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law gave voting right to all United States citizens.

Today race and sex do not prevent Americans from voting or from running for political office. African Americans are now political leaders. Many cities have black mayors. In 1990, the state of Virginia elected the first black governor.

Women ,too, are now political leaders. Many cities have women mayors, and some states have women governors. In 1984, a woman ran for Vice President. She lost the election, but this was an important step for American women. Maybe one day in the future, the United States will have a woman President.

It is terrible

这段时间一直伴随着不顺。幸而心态平和，淡化了各种事件对生活的干扰。
首先是发现自己的电子词典不见了，每天随身带着，可能在公交车上或者地铁上滑落了出来。小小的不愉快了一下。接下来的星期六去中央公园，然后去美国自然历史博物馆，想想这趟行程又是信息量饱和的一天，又能拍很多的照片回来。可是在准备所有的装备后，就是找不到照相机在什么地方了，翻箱倒柜，甚至床头床脚，到处翻遍都找不到它的身影，在不知不觉间它又弃我而去。在我的单反相机还没有到来的时刻就离开我，是否有点太不近人情了呢？
更大的无奈还不在于小小的破财。终于收到移民局的预约信，12号前去打指模，这段等待实在是让人心焦已久。打开后才真正傻眼，信早在半个月前就到了，只是现在才由别人转交到我手上而已，约定的日期已经过了两天。没有这个手续，就无法办到社会安全号，无法得到工作许可，无法办理驾照，无法银行开户。所有的一切连开头都没有了。

这些不顺因一些小事情的发生还在延续当中，看它何时才能罢手！

Election Day

今天到Manhattan，看到很多美国民众排起长龙来投票的情形。

异域节日的狂欢