Thanksgiving around the world ....

[Donner]

This week is Thanksgiving day.
A huge national holiday in America. But ONLY in America......

And we have alot of non US members here...

Might be fun if the US guys want to share what Thanksgiving is and everyone else wants to share what other holidays they have this time of year...

[melodichaotic]

Cool Donner...

Thanksgiving to me is the holiday that Christmas/Hanukkah and other related celebratory holidays in/around December should be, instead of the economical juggernaut that happens starting with "Black Friday and earlier(cut-throat, old-school stay up all night for "concert tickets" ,be first on line for the best deals at Walmart", shed blood in the shoppers pitbull mosh pit, etc...get the picture )...now if that's not telling...yeah, we're in a recession, understand, but it is what it is.

Thanksgiving on the other hand, is simple gratefulness and gratitude for life,giving, being able to live/survive with no gifts, no hoopla, just completely keeping it real, representing how we can help each other out no matter what the circumstances.

I'm most fond of the fact that it is ethnic/religion irrelevant for the most part, meaning that people of all backgrounds/nationalities who come to America can connect for a day for that basic tenant of being thankful for food, shelter, life, faith, and good company.

Of course the most important part is that the food COMPLETELY ROCKS!!!

Thank you...Good Night!

[mrpicard]

Well, there is a state in Australia, called Victoria, and on the first Tuesday in November they have a public holiday in order to.....go to the horse races and get completely drunk. No joke, it is called the "Melbourne Cup Day" and it is a horse race that has been held since 1861. It was declared a public holiday in 1873 and since then it has been a day when Victorians dress up in "fancy" clothes, get completely 100% drunk and then watch a horse race. Now, although the other states in Australia do not have a public holiday they do (a) dress up and (b) watch the horse race and (c) get completely drunk too. So, basically nothing happens that day all over Australia. As you can see, Australians take having a party very seriously.

[Donner]

Mr Picard, that sounds an awful lot like Super Bowl Sunday - everyone gets dressed up gets drunk and watches a Football game..... and there should probably be a national holiday the day after called Super Hangover Monday.....

I think the Melbourne cup would catch on in the US pretty quick if introduced properly

[jfromel]

Great topic Donner,

This year we celebrated quite a bit differently. We bought our house 7 years ago and closed a week before Thanksgiving (which also happened to be my birthday). We had a wonderful thanksgiving feast that year with the whole family and we wanted to start a tradition of hosting Thanksgiving for anyone who would come.

We have had a couple massive feasts and some super massive feasts in the house with upwards of 25 people. This year was a bit different.

Last year, due to the "new economy" we moved into the daylight basement of the house and are now renting out the main level as a separate unit. It is not as easy to host family and friends that visit but it keeps the bills paid.

This year, there was no big celebration. I made a small turkey roast, potatoes, veggies, salad and deviled eggs for the four of us. Then I took the family to see Tangled in 3D, my kids loved it and Debbie and I had a great time as well. There was zero stress and it was perhaps the best Thanksgiving I have ever had. I know that I have more to be truly thankful for than I ever have in my life.

I opened the shop at normal hours on Friday, and the prices were the same as they were on Wednesday and the same as they will be when I open up at 11am tomorrow. It was a deliberate F-U to what is considered expected in retail. I put about $250 in the register on Friday, is was enough to pay the bills for the day and buy my wife a chocolate.

I am very thankful and feel truly blessed.

[melodichaotic]

Nice post John. Thanks for sharing. Yeah, I know more than ever we need an economic boost
but, I agree, the Black Friday thing really gets mental, so good for you.