11 December, 2010

Other people's holidays: Thanksgiving

This year we were invited to lunch with a Franco-American family we know from school. They are American citizens but they are still very French so our lunch involved an excellent casserole and I provided pudding in the form of an English apple crumble. No roast turkey and no pumpkin pie. We had a lovely time. 

But I did think then and also every time someone asked what we were doing for Thanksgiving, that you can't adjust your cultural calendar in a year. The celebrations that mean something to me - Christmas, Easter, Bonfire Night - are not just dates in a calendar but are times in the year that get built into you. You anticipate them and you know your own family rituals and you can't just drop them and adopt others over night. Or over a year. 

So while I did get dressed up in a pink Afro and wings on 31st October, I can't say that Hallowe'en has a strong resonance for me. I rather missed the noise and sausages and soup and fireworks on 5th November. And Thanksgiving is a lovely idea, but it isn't our holiday. I'll join in with yours but I won't be roasting any turkeys at home anytime soon. It would feel like Christmas a month early.

Now of course we are heading for Christmas. So I must once more head off on a hunt for a pudding and mincemeat.


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