Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving, giving thanks, popularly said to be for the safe arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers in the USA, is celebrated not just in the USA but also Canada and other countries. It is not just a bit of fun. It is a national holiday, when families get together, like Christmas dinner for Christians and the Seder night around Easter for Jews.
Dates vary in different countries.
You can buy festival foods all around the world and online.
(The Japanese and Germans have similar festivals.)
| Observed by | Countries
Sub-national entities
|
|---|---|
| Type | National, cultural |
| Date | 2nd Monday in October (Canada) 1st Thursday in November (Liberia) Last Wednesday in November (Norfolk Island) 4th Thursday in November (U.S. and Brazil) |
| 2020 date | October 12, 2020 (Canada); November 5, 2020 (Liberia); |
| 2021 date | October 11, 2021 (Canada); November 4, 2021 (Liberia); |
Thanksgiving Dinner
Thanksgiving dinner centrepiece is often a turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce. This is the main dish for Christmas in the UK. Because the Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving, they prefer something different for Christmas.
Pumpkins
What I remember about Thanksgiving in America, from living in America, was that pumpkins were not just decorations for inside houses, homes and restaurants. Pumpkins were visible as you drove through the cities and towns and out of town along the roadside. Piles of pumpkins to buy. Strings of paper and plastic pumpkin lanterns strung between lamp posts.
You can buy pumpkins in grocery stores and supermarkets. Pumpkins can be huge, big and heavy to carry. You need a strong man who does not have a hernia, or a shopping trolley, or delivery.
So, if you want them only for decoration, stick to the paper ones which are cheaper and can be stored for next year.
However, you can also buy or make pumpkin foods, like at Thanksgiving.
At Halloween cakes and orange frosted items is popular.
I like the look of pumpkins. I like bright orange. I like circles and ovals. I like the smell and the taste of pumpkin soup and a thicker texture. I like the smell and the taste of pumpkin pie and not mushy but a more solid texture.
At the American Club in Singapore there was a long waiting list for membership, longer for non-Americans, and a high monthly fee. I was a member of the Women's Association, which was open to non-Americans. You were not allowed to use the pool which was for members only but could attend interest groups such as the bridge club which met in a meeting room, and sometimes in members' homes. Through the American Women's Association I was allowed to buy a ticket for the Thanksgiving lunch, which I attended two years running. I recall pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie dessert.
At the American Club in Singapore there was a long waiting list for membership, longer for non-Americans, and a high monthly fee. I was a member of the Women's Association, which was open to non-Americans. You were not allowed to use the pool which was for members only but could attend interest groups such as the bridge club which met in a meeting room, and sometimes in members' homes. Through the American Women's Association I was allowed to buy a ticket for the Thanksgiving lunch, which I attended two years running. I recall pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie dessert.
What is the difference between a good pumpkin pie and a pie which makes people say, " I've had better - like the one at ...,' or, "I make it better myself. I'll give you the recipe."
One question is, is it freshly made? Does the pumpkin flavour come across strongly. (Opinions vary. If you like pumpkin pie, which I do, you want a strong pumpkin flavour, or something to enhance it. If you hate it, like my husband, your prefer it to be bland or faintly flavoured with something else to disguise it.
Instead of overdosing on cakes and sweets, you could add warming pumpkin soup.
Pumpkins are orange-red the colour of autumn.
Pumpkins are orange-red the colour of autumn.
Plain Pumpkin Pie
A pastry base and solid orange pumpkin filling.
See Halloween for ingredients and ideas of colour schemes.
Pumpkin Soup
The orange pumpkin soup colour is enhanced by a swirl of white cream in the middle, white boiled egg, or green mint or other green herb.
For an orange, white and green theme you could offer the alternatives of:
white potato soup and
red tomato soup and
orange carrot soup and
green pea soup.
Party shops can supply clothes, tablecloths, themed plastic or paper plates and napkins, posters and banners.
Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_dinner
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin_pie
Japanese Thanksgiving
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_Thanksgiving_Day
About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
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