For many of us here in the UK , Thanksgiving as celebrated in the United States ( Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving in October) can be a confusing affair. Many of us, unless we have American relatives and friends or have spent some time living in the States, only have access to the traditions of Thanksgiving via the medium of Hollywood movies or through the fast diminishing art that is known as reading informative books. With the history of the two countries being so intrinsically linked, it is a mystery why this particular portion of history is not (or at least it wasn't in my education) taught in British schools.
As with many Christmas movies, the films seem to be centred on family squabbles, dreamy romantic relationships or transport and travel mayhem with a large turkey dinner situated somewhere in the middle!
As a young person, watching these "Thanksgiving" movies, it was difficult to discern any notable difference between them and Christmas movies. After all, it seems like such a great time to have a Christmas Dress Rehearsal, just a month before Christmas itself, when the shopping has already started, many of the decorations are already on display and the kids' excitement is just about set to "GO"!
For those of us unaware that Thanksgiving is historically a giving of thanks for the year's harvest, I think we perhaps envy this American holiday, wishing we too, could have an extra day off work in November with all the added trimmings!
One may wonder why the British have not adopted this holiday,(although many British churches still hold harvest festivals and services, these don't usually spill over into secular consciousness) when it is said that the first ever Thanksgiving came about in the year 1622 when American natives helped the English pilgrims survive a brutal and harsh winter in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Perhaps we are not as grateful as we should be or as with most celebrations and holidays, the true meaning has been lost in the sands of time and materialism.
Speaking of materialism, we don't have "Black Friday" (apparently the unofficial Christmas shopping kick off, the day after Thanksgiving) in the UK either, although we do have plenty of "
Bleak" Monday's, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays!
What does the Thanksgiving holiday mean to you, in your part of the world?
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