For the last few years, my family has not celebrated the great holiday of Thanksgiving. It hasn’t been a conscious choice to not celebrate the holiday, we just keep finding great opportunities to travel. Of course, classmates and professors ask about our plans for the break. Every time this happens and a friend asks about my Thanksgiving Break plans and I tell them that we aren’t celebrating, a look of shock and pity crosses their face. When I see their expression, I always laugh and respond that they shouldn’t feel sorry for me because my family still has a lot of fun.
Yes, I do miss our Thanksgiving traditions.
Having grown up with many memories of spending time with family and friends over Thanksgiving, a part of me definitely feels like I’m missing out. Who doesn’t love the classic Thanksgiving spread or making hand turkeys? My mouth waters at the thought of turkey and stuffing. However, my mother doesn’t completely escape from Thanksgiving cooking because we always request that she makes a mini Thanksgiving meal over Winter Break.
No, we don’t sit in our house moping around on Thanksgiving day.
Instead of staying in town and celebrating Thanksgiving, my family travels. Last year, I had the opportunity to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina. If you know anything about that city, you’ll know that it was probably one of the least Christmas-like destinations as they are in the southern hemisphere and were just entering spring. Having the chance to travel serves as a chance to remind us that the world is bigger than the life we know.
What I learned:
Forgoing the celebration of Thanksgiving reminds me that we should be thankful for all the blessings in our life every day, and not just during one Thursday of November. It also serves as a reminder that we don’t need a holiday to get together with family, that family and friends should make the time to get together throughout the year. Lastly, it reminds me that we should spend time throughout the year giving back to worthy causes as their needs don’t disappear during the other months of the year.