As an English ex-pat it's always been a little weird for me on Thanksgiving... In the early years, I could not muster up an ounce of excitement about having a Turkey dinner a month early - I mean, turkey dinner is Christmas dinner (for me) - it's weird to have it in November! Also, it seemed such a waste of effort to travel so far to be with family in November, when you have to do it all over again at Christmas, only a month later! And what a disruption of school, work, schedules, etc... But over the years, I've started to get a different feeling - that of a unifying national experience... All Americans, of whatever religion or faith do this thing called "Thanksgiving" and, without the trappings of presents, decorations, parties, over-hyped commercialized materialism, it really is the genuine article - a time of getting together with friends and family and being thankful for each other...
Growing up in a small suburban town in England, most people I knew were loosely "Christian" (whether church going or not), apart from of course our lovely Indian Hindu friends. These friends didn't keep themselves separate from the all-embracing Christmas celebrations - they joined in every bit as fully and heartily as the rest of us. We also had some neighbors who were Jehovah's Witnesses and of course they didn't celebrate Christmas, but they were the only people we knew who didn't, and we just accepted them as an anomaly. I did not know anyone of the Jewish or Muslim faith (or any other religion) until I was in college. I was not taught about Judaism or Islam or other religions until well into my teens. So everyone everywhere celebrated Christmas (as far as I knew)... It definitely felt like a unifying national experience.
Living in America, where you are surrounded by many people of different faiths and religions, other traditions (such as Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanza) are honored, talked about, celebrated and given almost equal prominence as Christmas. The "political correctness" of not saying "Merry Christmas" to people (in case they are Jewish, etc) felt weird at first, and I have to admit served to weaken the feeling of the "Christmas spirit" for me. Even though we celebrate Christmas with our immediate family and close friends, the fact that your surrounding neighbors and friends may not be celebrating Christmas feels... well... a little strange... (Not so much now, after 12 years of living here, but...)
Thanksgiving however: this cross-categorical, inter-faith tradition, has brought back for me, the feeling of a community spirit, of a shared celebration, of a unifying national experience. You can freely wish everyone here a "Happy Thanksgiving" ... I even say it to my Irish and Australian friends who live here, but, interestingly not my English friends, even though they may now be American residents or citizens. (We British ex-pats kind of sheepishly say it to each other, but kind of roll our eyes in recognition of the irony of it!) However, I actually enjoy being wished a "Happy Thanksgiving" by my American friends and family - it makes me feel like I belong - and of course, now I'm a fully fledged, certified American Citizen, I do belong - at last!
I guess I can identify more now with my Pilgrim "ancestors": even though I didn't come over here to look for a new church, I did come over here willingly, in love with my new American husband, and with the spirit of adventure and appreciation of America as my new home.
So, "Happy Thanksgiving" to all my American friends and family and thank you for accepting me into the fold!
Growing up in a small suburban town in England, most people I knew were loosely "Christian" (whether church going or not), apart from of course our lovely Indian Hindu friends. These friends didn't keep themselves separate from the all-embracing Christmas celebrations - they joined in every bit as fully and heartily as the rest of us. We also had some neighbors who were Jehovah's Witnesses and of course they didn't celebrate Christmas, but they were the only people we knew who didn't, and we just accepted them as an anomaly. I did not know anyone of the Jewish or Muslim faith (or any other religion) until I was in college. I was not taught about Judaism or Islam or other religions until well into my teens. So everyone everywhere celebrated Christmas (as far as I knew)... It definitely felt like a unifying national experience.
Living in America, where you are surrounded by many people of different faiths and religions, other traditions (such as Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanza) are honored, talked about, celebrated and given almost equal prominence as Christmas. The "political correctness" of not saying "Merry Christmas" to people (in case they are Jewish, etc) felt weird at first, and I have to admit served to weaken the feeling of the "Christmas spirit" for me. Even though we celebrate Christmas with our immediate family and close friends, the fact that your surrounding neighbors and friends may not be celebrating Christmas feels... well... a little strange... (Not so much now, after 12 years of living here, but...)
Thanksgiving however: this cross-categorical, inter-faith tradition, has brought back for me, the feeling of a community spirit, of a shared celebration, of a unifying national experience. You can freely wish everyone here a "Happy Thanksgiving" ... I even say it to my Irish and Australian friends who live here, but, interestingly not my English friends, even though they may now be American residents or citizens. (We British ex-pats kind of sheepishly say it to each other, but kind of roll our eyes in recognition of the irony of it!) However, I actually enjoy being wished a "Happy Thanksgiving" by my American friends and family - it makes me feel like I belong - and of course, now I'm a fully fledged, certified American Citizen, I do belong - at last!
I guess I can identify more now with my Pilgrim "ancestors": even though I didn't come over here to look for a new church, I did come over here willingly, in love with my new American husband, and with the spirit of adventure and appreciation of America as my new home.
So, "Happy Thanksgiving" to all my American friends and family and thank you for accepting me into the fold!
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