Thoughts on Thanksgiving Thursday

Last Thursday was the last of November. And as tradition in the United States has it, it was Thanksgiving Day. Growing up in the Philippines, all Thanksgiving to me was another dinner – a bit more festive than the usual – with turkey and all its trimmings. In other words, it was another excuse for the family to gather around the table over a meal. It was not until I left for college and spent time in America that I realized how big a deal it is. For Americans, its significance is perhaps the equivalent of Christmas in the Philippines. It is almost with no exception, when everyone returns home to their families, and then, of course, there is Black Friday (celebrated the day after) with a surplus of sales everywhere to officially mark the beginning of the holiday season. Different cultures have different traditions, but after spending four years in New York, Thanksgiving has really become a day I have come to love. Spirits are high, and the happiness abounds. Beyond the turkey and the trimmings, it is the meaning behind it I have really come to love and embrace – the very notion of giving thanks for blessings big and small.

I remember one of my friends in college counting down to the Thanksgiving weekend from the very first week of school. As she told me about it, I took the opportunity to ask her how it is typically celebrated by her family. What struck me the most was the tradition of going around the dinner table, and sharing what one was most thankful for that year. And though I am a believer of giving thanks every day, and that the only way to live life to the fullest is with an attitude of gratitude, Thanksgiving is an opportunity to openly share these blessings with others – not in a way that seems proud, and would otherwise be misconstrued as gloating, but in a way that is inspiring and encouraging.

In a city as cosmopolitan as New York, and a country where immigrants make up a significant population, one can say that it has become a melting pot of all cultures. This, to me, makes Thanksgiving even more special – in a country where a multitude of traditions have become the norm because of the people who bring them along, Thanksgiving is perhaps the richest part of the American culture that has remained prominent through the years, and which Americans and non-Americans alike have joined in celebrating. It is the most symbolic representation of the American dream, and the United States as the land of promise that people aspire to either visit or live in one day. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated as a result of pilgrims’ bountiful harvest. Today, in every corner of the United States (and in different parts of the world), Thanksgiving is celebrated by people of all races and cultures who, in one way or another, have been influenced by the United States and/ or its way of life. In other words, those who have been touched by the American Dream – whatever you make of that and of it.

Next week, I will talk about some of the blessings

– big and small – I am most thankful for this year. And as I write this on Thanksgiving Day looking out at Central Park, a sense of nostalgia envelops me once again – I have not celebrated Thanksgiving in the Big Apple since 2012 – my senior year in college, and I have forgotten how festive and how big a deal it is over here. It has reminded me of how much a part of my life gratefulness should be, and how the most bountiful harvests abound from the most grateful of hearts.

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving (whether you chose to celebrate it or not), and that you continue to give thanks today, tomorrow, and always.