Hey, Brits – stop muscling in on our Thanksgiving turf
Helen Kirwan-taylor charts the meteoric rise of ‘turkey day’ celebrations on this side of the pond
Call it Thanksgiving-gate: When Nigella Lawson casually asked on Twitter “Why are English people doing Thanksgiving all of a sudden?”, she didn’t expect the level of interest – even outrage – that followed. She rapidly followed her original question by saying she wasn’t launching an attack on what Americans call “turkey day”, but it was too late: Britons chimed in en masse to share their disapproval at how many US celebrations seem to have been adopted here, from Black Friday to end-of-school proms.
But as an American who has lived in the UK for several decades, it’s no surprise to me that appetite for Thanksgiving has soared; the Brits love to borrow what others do best and, as far as the States is concerned, gastronomically speaking, this is it.
I first became aware Thanksgiving had arrived on these shores when my friends – none of whom have any connection to the US – started posting pictures of themselves making chili cornbread on Instagram.
Waitrose reports that this year will probably be its most Thanksgivingfriendly ever: on its website, searches for “Thanksgiving turkey” are up more than 270 per cent compared with 2018, while pumpkin pie recipe searches have also seen a huge spike. Many restaurants now offer the whole shebang: Ottolenghi, one of the first British food outfits to delve into this market, will today see throngs of well-heeled women lining up outside to pick up stuffing and pecan pie to pass off as their own.
One of the essential features of Thanksgiving is communal effort, so even if someone cheats and hires caterers you won’t find any evidence of it (the men and women in uniforms are referred to as “waiting staff ”). Ignore what the food snobs say: America is still young enough not to stick its nose up when someone wants to experiment with Brownie stuffing.
So why have Brits muscled into an all-american holiday? “We don’t really have that many excuses for celebration and festive feasts in the UK,” says Paul Kelly, chief executive of Kellybronze Turkeys, awarded best
As an American in the UK, it’s no surprise to me that celebrations here have soared
free-range turkeys in the UK for the past eight years. And timing is key, he adds: “Thanksgiving falls at the end of November, when everyone is fed up.”
Unlike Americans, who have four days off work for the celebration of English pilgrims and Native Americans coming together in 1621, Brits take a more scattergun approach, even ordering celebration turkeys after the event, Kelly explains, probably due to the volume of Thanksgiving food porn on social media.
Thanksgiving is particularly special to me not only because I grew up celebrating it, but because we chose it as our wedding day, too. That four-day break meant relatives and friends in New York could fly to Paris (where our wedding took place) without having to take time off; back then, many of our British guests had never celebrated a Thanksgiving feast before, let alone listened to soppy “gratitude” toasts about what we were thankful for.
Thanksgiving is unashamedly corny and kitsch (which does come more naturally to Americans…). The celebration has also been rebranded as “Friendsgiving” – another reason, surely, why it has taken off.
Loneliness is a big issue for people at Christmas time (which is why many secretly fear it), but seldom at Thanksgiving. In the US, schools, universities and offices close down the day before, giving people plenty time to get home. My younger son, who went to Yale, says that students who couldn’t travel home for financial or distance reasons celebrated together.
We will be celebrating twice this year – once with the extended American side of the family and again over the weekend with friends – which is another advantage of Thanksgiving: it’s flexible.
No one has to organise presents or schedule the day around church services (though in the US, the day revolves around American football). You’re not meant to “get through it” or suffer in silence in the kitchen.
It may be a while before it gains the kind of ground here that it has in the States, but Brits’ willingness to accept a turkey day invitation is surely the first step. After all, it’s another excuse to cherish loved ones with a delicious feast. And who could turn that down?