Thanksgiving-ish

Since my last posting on non-work life, we have ventured deep into the holiday season. I think I mentioned last year something about how businesses in Kenya have taken a page from the US and they start marketing Christmas in October/November. Thankfully, it’s not as in-your-face as it is in the US. Not yet.

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celebrating Diwali with friends (added to the holiday season)

As you might guess, Thanksgiving is not a thing in East Africa. Within some expat bubbles, it is. Americans, particularly US government employees, usually find ways to celebrate, typically with other Americans. Canadians celebrate as well, though for Canada it takes place on the second Monday in October.

There are different views as to whether the holiday represents something good (taking time to give thanks for blessings) or something bad (sordid history of the treatment of native Americans). Either way, the Canadian celebration is intertwined with that of the US. We both share blessings and some sordid history. We have some Canadian friends and we were discussing it a few weeks ago.

Though there are several accounts as to where and how the holiday began, it seems certain that the origins date to a time when North America didn’t have nation states.  Thus, it’s likely that the holiday didn’t cross a border. The border crossed the territory where the holiday was already being recognized, at least in some form. Having said that, with the American Revolution in the latter part of the 1800s, it does appear that some customs that were more prevalent in what is now the US (including some that are now associated with Thanksgiving), moved north with migrating British loyalists who wanted nothing to do with the newly independent American states. Both that and the phenomenon of modern marketing make the Thanksgivings what they are today.

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our half turkey

Over the nearly three decades of my life outside the US, I have celebrated about half of the Thanksgivings. It has usually depended on whether or not I have other Americans around me that are interested in celebrating it, which hasn’t always been the case. Because it is always recognized on a weekday, it has necessarily been on a workday for me. That generally sucks some of the festiveness out of it. One option has been to celebrate it the following weekend which we have done on occasion.

dinner with our friend Linda

The other challenge is to try to create a traditional dinner based on what is available wherever I have been. Given that turkey is the traditional main dish, and much of the world doesn’t have them, it can be complicated. Chicken is often the modest substitute. Nonetheless, this year we were able to obtain a half-turkey and our meal ended up being Thanksgiving-ish.