You'll often hear people in Ireland complain about the American influence on the culture here. I don't always disagree. American television, music and movies seem to be everywhere and a lot of it is just garbage. Anytime I see or hear Britney Spears I know they have a point.
Holidays too, are not beyond American influence. People frequently blame the changes in the way that Christmas, Easter, St. Patrick's Day and Halloween are celebrated on American influence.
In a week or two many Irish people will have their homes bedecked in flashing Santas, snowmen, sleighs, and all sorts of light displays. None of this existed here 15 years ago. Back then all you'd see was the family Christmas tree in the window of a house - there would be no outdoor decorations. Now every neighborhood is like Times Square. American influence.
Yet, there's one American holiday tradition that refuses to leave America's shores – Thanksgiving. Yup, tomorrow is one of the biggest days of the year in America, but here it's simply Thursday, November 26. No holiday, no parades, no football (that's another sad story), no nothing. It can be the most depressing day of the year for an American in Ireland.
Instinctively all Americans know when Thanksgiving comes around. It's ingrained in our DNA. When that 4th week of November comes around you begin to salivate at the thought of the big turkey dinner, like some Pavlovian dog. Whether you're state-side or in Ireland or anywhere else for that matter you've just gotta have turkey.
It's easier said than done, however. You can't find a turkey in the stores here. All the turkeys in Ireland are earmarked for December 25. And if you have to work a full day tomorrow, there's no time to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner.
Those are obstacles, but not insurmountable ones. First, many Americans here shift their celebrations from Thursday to Saturday, when they have the time needed to prepare the dinner. Also, for those who don't have family here, a Saturday celebration makes it easier to invite over a few Irish friends to take part in Thanksgiving. (Just because it's not a holiday here, doesn't mean Irish people will turn down a nice big dinner and a couple glasses of wine.}
As for the turkey, you have to order in advance. We order from a supermarket near enough to the American embassy. They're used to us Yanks and our specific needs for turkey a month in advance of the Irish populace. When I called to place my order a couple of weeks ago, Dave the butcher heard my accent and right away stopped me with, "Thanksgiving, right?"
Somehow I like that. I like talking about Thanksgiving. I want people here to know about it. In fact, I think it would be great if Ireland took up the tradition.
Who doesn't need a day to take a time out from all the hustle and bustle? A day with no cards, no gifts, no nothing other than time? Time to reflect? What's not to like? And this year, possibly as much as any in the lifetime of anyone alive here today, Irish people could use such a break. It's bad here, but we still live in a safe and relatively wealthy country. We still have quite a bit to be thankful for. It's not Somalia.
Me? I'll be picking up our turkey later this evening and the whole family will sit down to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow afternoon (after school - life's tough for some). My stomach and I can hardly wait.
Here's Bing Crosby singing "I've Got Plenty To Be Thankful":
Originally published in 2009.
11 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.TheYank | Nov 22, 2012, 01:23 AM EST
RedBranch,
Thanksgiving used to be the last Thursday in November, but it was moved up to the 4th Thursday in the 1930s by President Roosevelt in a bid to extend the Christmas shopping season and help the depression-hit economy. He never imagined our Christmas shopping season that begins in October.
ciaradexy | Nov 21, 2012, 11:46 AM EST
Thanksgiving is definitely not something that should be celebrated here. Celebrating your ancestors invading a country and murdering the natives is not something to cheer about.
bean phaidin | Nov 21, 2012, 07:31 AM EST
Happy Thanksgiving To all the Fays from the O'Dowds in Pa. We will have 15 here for dinner tomorrow after the HighSchool football game in the morning. Thanksgiving is Christmas without the presents, a no pressure day(except for the cook) to get together with family .
curtisjohnson | Nov 20, 2012, 10:47 PM EST
"It was when a bunch of stubborn Protestants learned the hard way how to live in a strange new land and learn from the natives even if they looked, dressed, danced and farmed differently. Providence, their euphemism for the Diety, saw them thru and deserved to be thanked while the blessing were shared" The indigenous peoples had little to be thankful for after they saw the real face of the anglo-puritan psychopaths in future nation mugging slaughters of non-combatants.
aloistmartin | Nov 20, 2012, 05:24 PM EST
LOL ! Thanksgiving and Taxes ~
arialgirl | Nov 20, 2012, 03:59 PM EST
American Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of the month not the last Thursday. This year November has 5 Thursdays.
Scrivner | Nov 20, 2012, 03:29 PM EST
American Thanksgiving does have religious overtones--after all who are we giving thanks to? It's a harvest festival (which is why our Canadian bretheren do it a month earlier, shorter growing season). It was when a bunch of stubborn Protestants learned the hard way how to live in a strange new land and learn from the natives even if they looked, dressed, danced and farmed differently. Providence, their euphemism for the Diety, saw them thru and deserved to be thanked while the blessing were shared. If we Yanbks can bring this to the world, maybe the world can forgive us for Bermuda Shorts, KFC, refusing to go metric, talking too loudly and dispoiling good whiskey with 7-Up!
RedBranch | Nov 20, 2012, 02:22 PM EST
I always thought Thanksgiving was the last Thursday in November, why is it this week? In many ways Christmas is the Irish Thanksgiving. As I understand it Thanksgiving was established to be free of religious connotations. No such need in Ireland, sure we're all Christian, well most of us, at least some of us, anybody, anybody?
Antigone | Nov 20, 2012, 02:12 PM EST
Good God, isn't it enough that we have Christmas displays in the shops before Hallowe'en? Do we have to have yet another consumerfest to clutter up the years?
joan1954 | Nov 20, 2012, 11:07 AM EST
Maybe Thanksgiving has become commercialized and the evening of the day may start the frenzy that is Black Friday but still we give thanks for family, and friends and for what we have even if it isn't much. This holiday truly embraces America where others don't.
darao | Nov 20, 2012, 09:33 AM EST
A great idea -- but Thanksgiving is past now. It was on Monday the 14th of October here in Canada. With about 14% of Canadians tracing their roots to Ireland I think Irland would do well to join Canada for Thanksgiving. The Americans have their thanksgiving on their own date. Or Ireland can just appoint any date they want but given how Thanksgiving in American is such a commercial frenzy perhaps it would just be better to be kinder to people around us every day of the year and not make a date of it at all.