Thanksgiving in Europe

Thanksgiving, which we affectionately called turkey day when we were kids, has always been my favorite holiday. For me, it’s about friends, family and food. But for Europeans, it’s just another day on the calendar. Thanksgiving in Europe is just an American thing.

Why I Love Thanksgiving

Unlike Christmas, Thanksgiving is free of crazy commercialism. Marketing and advertising assaults are minimal. I like that. There is the madness of Black Friday, which is on the day after Thanksgiving, but that has more to do with pre-Christmas sales than it does with Turkey Day. It has transitioned from a one-day event to a week-long one. And, yes, Black Friday has sashayed into the European world. Consumerism at its best and worst.

What Do Europeans Know about Thanksgiving?

I have friends from all over the world. While Canadians have a clue about the holiday, it’s a bit of a mystery to many Europeans. A few of my friends know about the Pilgrims. Others think it’s a holiday to celebrate a harvest with the Indians. A few are even aware of the controversy about the relationship of Europeans with the native Americans. Nobody seemed to know that the holiday wasn’t official until President Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Proclamation of Thanksgiving: It’s an interesting read.

“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies,” reads the proclamation.  It ends with a plea to commend to God’s care “… all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.”

My Thanksgiving Dinner

This proclamation was especially meaningful as I enjoyed an early Thanksgiving with refugees from war-torn Ukraine. A friend’s church in Wallonia, which is led by two American reverends, hosted a real Thanksgiving meal with all the trimmings. There was turkey — lots of it — and potatoes of all varieties. Add to that cornbread stuffing, Brussels sprouts (It is Belgium, after all), and a huge variety of vegetables and salads. Two tables of desserts, including homemade pumpkin pie made with real pumpkins, not the stuff in a can , topped off the meal. Tables had cards with prayers of gratitude, which touched our hearts.

Thanksgiving in Europe Celebrations

Thanksgiving in Europe can be surprising, and not always in a good way. My first Thanksgiving celebration in Brussels was a complete disaster. I thought a dinner sponsored by the American Club would fit the bill. All my favorite holiday foods would be there. Well, kind of yes and kind of no. . It just didn’t capture the spirit of the holiday. The event was scheduled at the local Marriott hotel, and I am convinced the chef never ate a Thanksgiving meal or cooked a turkey before. It was dry as a bone. The stuffing was inedible, and there was no pumpkin pie. Sacrilege! And there were no friends or family to share the meal. It was disappointing.

It’s so nice to get together with friends again, after a long absence of celebration due to COVID-19. Last year, my Thanksgiving came to an abrupt halt when the man I was dating came down with COVID. The dinner was rescheduled to December. The year before, there was no Thanksgiving.

After my first Thanksgiving disappointment, I decided to bring Thanksgiving home. A friend bought a Butterball turkey for me from an American shop, and I cooked up quite the feast. Turkey, stuffing, homemade cranberry sauce, three kinds of potatoes, including a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. That was something I never had as a child. The concept was off-putting, but darn, it was delicious.

I Am Thankful

This has been an especially tough year for many reasons, but I am still thankful for so many things, like two new half-siblings, the discovery of my grandfather’s original immigration papers from the port he entered in Maine, and the wonderful times I have had with friends and family. And I am thankful that I received my permanent residency in Belgium, which has really become my home in the last six years.

Listen to Lincoln

Let’s follow the lead of the late President Lincoln and “heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.” Wouldn’t that be nice?

Here’s wishing you a special Thanksgiving filled with peace, love, and gratitude.