Thanksgiving: It’s a day to think of family and what we have to be grateful for. So whether you’re in the United States with your family enjoying the turkey lunch or in Spain learning Spanish and missing your family from afar, enjoy the day, eat well and think about the various cultures celebrating throughout the world…
Accross the United States of America today they will be celebrating Thanksgiving Day – a national holiday aimed to encourage people to consider what they have, the good in their lives, and give thanks and be grateful. It’s a day to spend with family and often people will travel right accross the country (or even come from abroad if they’re living away from the United States) to spend this day together with their loved ones.
The tradition is a big turkey lunch, much like that eaten at Christmas. By having such an extravagant lunch, we give thanks for the harvest of the year and though perhaps religious regarding its origin, it is now thought of as a secular holiday – after all, we all have something to be grateful for!
The traditional Thanksgiving turkey
Today we are thinking about the United States and what there is to be thankful for regarding their culture. Being a Spanish school, we think of the Hispanic communities in the America, and think about how great it is that there is this mix of culture, something we raelly should be grateful for as one culture has the opportunity to learn and appreciate the other.
And in Spain we are celebrating too! With a special Thanksgiving menu in a Valladolid restaurant, part of Centro Cultural Miguel Debiles. For thirty-four Euros, diners can enjoy the typical Thanksgiving meal with a “castellano touch”. It will be three plates with a dessert of pumkin pie, a typical food eaten on this day.
Accross the ocean in Los Ángeles, the residents have taken the sharing aspect of thanksgiving extra-seriously. They reunite every month to exchange produce which they’ve grown themselves, something which will help them prepare the meal for Thanksgiving. Last Saturday saw the exchange between 30 families of 38 different products – something which not only helps community spirit but is also a great way to combat the infamous crisis!
What will you be doing on Thanksgiving? Whether you’re studying Spanish in Spain and have to call home from an cyber cafe or you’re in the United States, enjoy a home-cooked turkey dinner, remember today’s a day to give thanks for what you have, something we too often forget to do.
