Seriously, you really need this holiday. I lived in the U.K. for several years, and there were bank holidays every time you woke up, it seemed. EXCEPT for the autumn interregnum. The U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving falls exactly in that vacant space, and it really is the best holiday of any on the U.S. calendar.
Yes, I know, it was invented as a consequence of the rebellious pilgrims emigrating to the newly-found continent and all of that. But it really is the best family-oriented holiday of the year. And a HUGE part of that is the major Thanksgiving meal.
I had the fabulous good fortune of developing a close family friendship with a British ex-pat couple stationed in California. It was initially professional (the guy was my boss), but became very close. A few years later, he got posted back to the U.K. (Scotland, Edinburgh), but then I got posted there, too. By which time he had taken another job. But we stayed in touch, I visited them several times, and they had not only adopted the U.S. holiday as a privately-celebrated occasion, but his wife was an avid gardener, and loved to grow traditional Thanksgiving vegetable fare, such as squash and pumpkins.
I was always baffled by the British aversion to winter squashes, as they are cooked and eaten in the U.S. They are ridiculously simple to cook, in a variety of flavorful ways, and I can provide several recipes I use with regularity.
We celebrated three Thanksgiving holidays there, as I recall, with all the standard food dishes (Turkey, of course, with stuffing, winter squash, sweet potatoes, bean casseroles, cranberries, cornbread, pumpkin pie).
Oh, yeah, and some of that very fine beverage the Scottish are so good at distilling.
Thanksgiving in America remains the harvest holiday, to be enjoyed with family and good food.
And a couple of football games on the telly.
caw
Yes, I know, it was invented as a consequence of the rebellious pilgrims emigrating to the newly-found continent and all of that. But it really is the best family-oriented holiday of the year. And a HUGE part of that is the major Thanksgiving meal.
I had the fabulous good fortune of developing a close family friendship with a British ex-pat couple stationed in California. It was initially professional (the guy was my boss), but became very close. A few years later, he got posted back to the U.K. (Scotland, Edinburgh), but then I got posted there, too. By which time he had taken another job. But we stayed in touch, I visited them several times, and they had not only adopted the U.S. holiday as a privately-celebrated occasion, but his wife was an avid gardener, and loved to grow traditional Thanksgiving vegetable fare, such as squash and pumpkins.
I was always baffled by the British aversion to winter squashes, as they are cooked and eaten in the U.S. They are ridiculously simple to cook, in a variety of flavorful ways, and I can provide several recipes I use with regularity.
We celebrated three Thanksgiving holidays there, as I recall, with all the standard food dishes (Turkey, of course, with stuffing, winter squash, sweet potatoes, bean casseroles, cranberries, cornbread, pumpkin pie).
Oh, yeah, and some of that very fine beverage the Scottish are so good at distilling.
Thanksgiving in America remains the harvest holiday, to be enjoyed with family and good food.
And a couple of football games on the telly.
caw
That's brilliant! And shows the difference between who went where.......
