This is my term for Thanksgiving, a quintessentially North American holiday that only involves food and no presents. What is the point of this, one wonders? Why turkey and no treats? While it does serve to break up the long stretch between the end of summer and the Christmas hols, I still don’t quite understand what it really represents anymore. And, more importantly, it’s one week before my birthday, so Thanksgiving gifts would be immediately followed by birthday gifts, followed by Christmas gifts. What could be better, one asks?

Wikipedia gives me the following helpful information about the origins of Thanksgiving: “Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday, and is a form of harvest festival. The date and whereabouts of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. Though the earliest attested Thanksgiving celebration was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida, the traditional “first Thanksgiving” is venerated as having occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621.

Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members.”

Thanks Wikipedia. I knew the tradition of pretending it was all about the pilgrims, but that never seemed to be a very good thing to celebrate – the Puritans who landed in New England weren’t exactly the most tolerant of people and Americans should rather thank the original Dutch colonists of New Amsterdam for their melting-pot culture and philosophies of racial and religious tolerance. Those crazy Dutch. Thanksgiving has, like Christmas, become a cultural and commercial holiday, with many people more concerned about the sales on Black Friday than celebrating the end of the harvest.

The thing I like about Thanksgiving, however (other than the time off work), is the chance to tell people you are grateful for their presence in your life. It’s a good excuse to have a great meal with those you love and take the time to value their friendship. It’s also a time to care for those who have less than you – so make sure you donate to City Harvest or to a local homeless shelter who provide meals for those without.

To end on an alcoholic note: I found a yummy-sounding cocktail recipe that I will be trying out on my unsuspecting parents on Thursday, so I encourage you all to do the same. Happy Thanksgiving!

Ginger Royale

Ingredients:

Ginger-flavoured liqueur
Champagne

Pour 1oz. ginger-flavoured liqueur into a champagne flute, fill with champagne and garnish with a slice of strawberry. Drink until you fall over.