When Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas” repeats on every radio station and the smell of hot cocoa with extra marshmallows fills the air, you know Christmas is around the corner. It’s only November but stores have already put out their holiday apparel and Starbucks’ beloved peppermint mocha is readily served in their decorated red and green cups. I personally have already gotten an iced Toasted White Mocha. However, I understand that some people don’t start to celebrate Christmas until after Thanksgiving, waiting to put up their Christmas tree and lights until the turkey has fully digested and December 1st has blessed us. With that in mind, I asked my Instagram followers if they celebrate Christmas, and if yes, when they start. After 24 hours, I found out that 43% of my followers start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving while 57% start celebrating Christmas after Thanksgiving. I am part of the people who begin celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving. Currently, a mini parol, Filipino Christmas lantern hangs from my car’s rearview mirror and a corgi in a Christmas hat welcomes you into my home.
Growing up, my family and I never really celebrated Thanksgiving, especially since it was always just my mother and me. My mother and father immigrated here from the Philippines where Thanksgiving is nonexistent. Throughout elementary school, I remember always wanting to celebrate Thanksgiving, especially after coming home from school drawing hand turkeys and eating pieces of turkey coated with gravy. I remember my teachers beginning class with “Thanksgiving break is coming up! What are you grateful for?” and hearing my fellow classmates talk about their Thanksgiving plans, whether they would travel to see their families or would host Thanksgiving at their house. However, each year at my household, Thanksgiving went by quietly. My mother and I would talk about what we were grateful for as we ate instant noodles or chicken adobo and rice. Instead of a dining table decorated with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and a deliciously golden turkey drizzled with cranberry sauce, we had a simple dinner on the couch, surrounded by the glow of the lights on the Christmas tree. As the -ber months hit, instead of prepping for Thanksgiving, we went straight into the Christmas mood as we called our family in the Philippines as they set up their Christmas trees and colorful parols in September, a full three months before! My mother and I would wait until after Halloween to set out our Nativity set, break styrofoam into pieces of snow, and decorate our Christmas tree. Growing up in Florida, we never really felt the holiday spirits and with our family thousands of miles away from us, it makes sense why we never had a grand Thanksgiving feast.
The one time my mother and I celebrated a traditional Thanksgiving, we were given a giant turkey which my mother thought was very dry and too big for just the two of us to eat. We had leftovers for days, each piece eventually drying out until it was hard and flaky. With every piece we ate, the turkey never seemed to finish until one day, she had to throw it away. Just like that, the traditional Thanksgiving turkey was no more. Instead, we looked forward to Black Friday sales when we could start planning our presents for loved ones. Thanksgiving was never anything big but Christmas always was. We would go to the mall and buy clothes, perfumes, or kitchenware on sale and wrap them up together, building a collection under the Christmas tree. We would write “To: Ate” or “To: Lola” and place it under the tree even though they wouldn’t be with us to open the presents. On Christmas day, we would place them into a Balikbayan box and ship it over.
As I grew older, my mother and I settled into life in Miami, FL. She met my stepfather, and he welcomed me into his life. I accompanied them on their dates, watching movies on my DVD player and learning to eat different types of foods. They made friends who treated us like family and invited us to spend the holidays with them. We would light fireworks together on the Fourth of July, watching as the colors overlapped with laughter. When Thanksgiving came along, we would eat a sweet honey ham with some fresh, steaming jasmine rice. Costco’s walnut pie would be served right after. Even though our family was back home, thousands of miles away, we found one here in the States, friends who we can relate to and laugh with. Friends I grew up with.
Nowadays, my parents and I celebrate Thanksgiving, joining our family friends who cook and serve pancit, crispy lechon, sweet honey ham, and pinakbet on the dinner table. Even though it’s not the traditional American Thanksgiving feast, it is perfect for all of us as we give thanks to each other and for our lives here. Funny enough, we usually take our group family photos in front of the already decorated Christmas tree because to us, Christmas begins whenever we want it to. Whatever your stance is, I wish you happy holidays!