I came to UW from Taiwan and the Thanksgiving holiday is not something that we would celebrate in Asia. Sure, we have heard of the encounter and history about the pilgrims and Native Americans, but it was more of a story to us than a tradition we would actually follow. The whole Autumn and Thanksgiving season is simply so exhilarating, refreshing, and even startling at times to me, and it seems foolish because this is what most Americans are used to throughout their entire life! This shows just how fascinating it is when different cultures and traditions collide, teaching us to be even more humble, accepting, and never lose that spark of curiosity in our hearts.
These are just a few things associated with the Autumn/Thanksgiving season that blew my mind:
1. “Friendsgiving”
Nope, never heard of this term before until a few weeks ago, when my roommates were hoping to host one Friendsgiving meal. Originally, I thought it was a gift-exchange event, where each person had to give each other presents, and to be honest I was a little hesitant and stressed out on finding a decent Thanksgiving gift for someone. But it turned out that it was simply a potluck/get-together dinner among friends! It was a really pleasant moment to bond and celebrate each other’s company with scrumptious, mouth-watering food.
2. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
I was recently exposed and pleasantly surprised to this epic tradition this Thanksgiving. When my roommate mentioned her family’s tradition of watching the “Macy’s Thanksgiving parade” in the morning, I thought we were going to a local Macy’s around her hometown for a nice, cozy celebration. Yes, you are probably chuckling in my ignorance right now. I had no idea that it was in such a huge scale—featuring celebrities (Jimmy Fallon, Gwen Stefani, Patti Labelle) on lavish floats, performances by Broadway shows (Dear Evan Hansen, Anastasia), and dances by the Radio City Rockettes. Towering balloons of characters (Olaf from Frozen, Pikachiu, Power Rangers) bobbed cheerfully down the streets of New York City, soaking up all the adoration from spectators. Did you know that the Spongebob Squarepants balloon is the first square balloon created? There was also a humongous turkey float that people were riding on, and a float based on the iconic Mount Rushmore! Moreover, there were marching band and dance group performances by teenage students, chosen specifically for this massive occasion. It’s so sweet to realize that their parents had probably participated in this tradition years ago, and now got to to see their children performing in the parade too.
3. The ultimate Thanksgiving Meal
Turkey (or chicken), cornbread, mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, yam…these are essential dishes to the Thanksgiving dinner that I find so surprisingly different from the food back home but nonetheless quite pleasant! I was confused when I learned that people put cranberry sauce on their meat and even mashed potatoes sometimes…cranberry sauce seems to be more of a dessert topping than something one might put on the main course. Feeling a little naive as I keep pointing and asking what each dish on the table was, my friend and her family giggled at how new and strange everything was to me. I was so astonished when I realized that “rolls” were not cylinder-shaped food like long seaweed rolls but actually small soft balls of bread buns that you eat with butter! And, of course, it wouldn’t be a successful Thanksgiving meal without stuffing your belly with pies for a glorious ending. Apple pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie…etc. (I had my first taste of a homemade huckleberry pie this year, and it flat out melted my heart) Being introduced to a slice of life that is so engrained and woven deeply into a particular culture was simply mind-boggling!
4. Pumpkins
Pumpkins are just not a thing where I come from. I have never visited a pumpkin patch or hauled a big orange pumpkin in my life until this autumn at a nearby farm (my American roommates were simply shocked), and I was so giddy with excitement my camera couldn’t stop clicking! It is extremely overwhelming to see the abundance of pumpkin flavored food in the US—pumpkin pies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin muffin, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin spice lattes…etc. The beautiful color of pumpkins matches wonderfully with the Autumn season: deep vibrant orange when the golden sun hits the surface just right. And I recently discovered that there are a myriad of colors too, varying from white, yellow, green, to the pinkish red of Cinderella pumpkins! They have become such a significant symbol of fall that everyone falls in love with so easily.
5. Black Friday and Cyber Monday
These are so deeply embedded in the American Thanksgiving tradition that it was almost silly to mention, but they were simply alien to me before coming to the US and got to see the frenzy that they have caused nationwide. Obviously, Black Friday is the informal beginning of the Christmas shopping season, in which families will stir up a hectic craze to get the best deals of the year. Then comes Cyber Monday, which online websites will be blaring off their sales discounts in our faces. Television bombarding us with sales and advertisements, unconsciously creating this pressure on us to grab onto the opportunity before it is too late. Man, this kind of peer pressure is equally stressful!
I’m sure that these are just snippets of what you might consider Thanksgiving to be…but it is truly intriguing (and appalling sometimes) to have the opportunity to see how important and significant this holiday is to the US history and culture.