It's time for me to make a small confession. In living the life of an expatriate, one knows there are just certain things that you have to do without and you learn to live with it. The differences between the US and Germany are not so different that it's not possible to fake it every now and again. Still, there is one thing about America that I go out of my way to compensate for, and that's Thanksgiving. It is, without a doubt my favorite holiday.
In my mind, Thanksgiving is the absolute, picture-perfect ... no absolutely perfect ... holiday. Americans don't get everything right ... in fact, they even got this one wrong, but when seen in its proper light, it is the holiday of all holidays. OK, OK, we have a terribly sordid past when it comes to both Pilgrims and Native Americans, and I believe it's long past time that we owned up to that and did something about it. But, that's another blog. At the moment, I'm more interested in where we are than how we got there.
First of all, it's a guaranteed four-day weekend. (That my fellow country-people have perverted it into a kick-off for the Christmas season is, well, their own fault, and so too many people have to work anyway: consumption must go on). Secondly, the celebration part takes place at the very beginning of the break, so you have plenty of time to wind down. Third, when done right, the focus of the holiday is family. Since there is a little extra time, since there are school vacations and plant shutdowns, more people have more opportunity to get together with their family than perhaps at any other time of year. Fourth, it's about being thankful ... thankful for everything you have. Being thankful is a good thing. Stopping for a moment and thinking about how good we all have it (and just about everyone reading this is doing well) is something we need to do more often, but at least we've formally recognized that it's something we should do. After all, they made it a holiday. Finally, and for me, most importantly, this holiday is simply about the food.
Yes, I know, there are not a few families who actually suffer on this day. There are more than a few folks I know who won't go near a turkey because they'll just screw it up. I know there are lots of ways to do it wrong, but I can assure each and every one of you, that in our house, guests who don't even like turkey have asked for seconds. If there is one meal a year that I put every ounce of love in my being into the food put on the table, this is it, and everyone who's ever had it has declared they will sign a sworn statement to that effect. (OK, I'm exaggerating right now, but you know what I mean.) So what's the issue.
It's simple: since it's not a holiday here, and since the "thanksgiving" they the Germans have is not celebrated as extravagantly as we do in the States, I have to make major adjustments to have the holiday at all. Fortunately, none of the family in the immediate area have jobs that require them to work on Saturdays and with a modicum of effort, we can get everyone together. So, this year, yesterday, we got everyone together and I did my magic in the kitchen and there were nothing but satisfied faces around the table after dinner.
So, to all my European friends: you don't know what you're missing. To my American friends: I hope, on Thursday, you enjoy even half as much as I did yesterday. And regardless: take a moment and just be thankful.
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