torsdag, november 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving greeting is being given to you by someone who spent almost the whole of the month convinced that Thanksgiving was next week. Only after seeing some posts in honor of the occasion earlier this week did it hit me. Today is actually the 4th Thursday in the month (I had to really sit down and do the math on this one, 'cause it seemed pretty early to me), and therefore...Thanksgiving.

It's a sign of how expat I have become that I'm so out of tune with this. A couple of years ago, I blogged about how I had tried to keep the Thanksgiving spirit alive wherever I was living, because it is in fact my favorite holiday. But clearly it was already too late. Last year I didn't do anything for it, not even a ceremonial blog post. This evening I will be dining with Thor and select family, but I've been told that the menu is hamburger. To be precise, it's fresh free-range hamburger, actually...the result of some shady meat-buying deal of the sort which apparently happens a lot in Denmark around this time of year, and which will happen for us this afternoon (actually for the second time...the first time leaving us with some obscene amount of lamb parts in the freezer...which would be more exciting for me if I actually liked lamb). I wasn't in on the original dealing, but I imagine something on the lines of 'Hey, you know my cousin's friend's daughter's co-worker at the bank...did you know her uncle in Jutland raises his own calves/goats/chickens/ducks? He'll be slaughtering some of them, cutting them up, and then selling the pieces from the back of a van from all sorts of obscure places all around Denmark...wanna go in on a cow/goat/chicken/duck with me? We can pick it up between the hours of 4:36 and 5:12 at the following location....'

So, anyway, Thanksgiving hamburger. It will be fun, to chat with the folks and such. But I do wonder, is this the Thanksgiving I want? For now it clearly is. But maybe it's time to start thinking about that whole 'happy family at Thanksgiving' thing. The reason that it's still my favorite holiday was because it was a tradition that we followed. Never with too many people, not too hyped up, but just really nice. It's with this holiday that I realize that becoming a mother means setting traditions for the family (yes, I know, Thor will be in on this as well...but in my life, it was my mom who had this role, and I feel it's something I'd like to try out). Leading to the question, is this a tradition I want? I suspect that the answer is yes. I know Thor and his family and his friends would be more than happy to participate in an exotic American holiday based solely around food and drink. But at the same time, I'm not too upset at not cooking up a turkey and all the fixings this year.

*Photo: of course, Norman Rockwell's Freedom from Want. I'd give one link for it, but it seems to be everywhere!*

8 kommentarer:

Devil Mood sagde ...

eheheh I can imagine that negociation happening over here too, except for the last part - it wouldn't have an exact timing, just "some time next week! yeah, that's great!"

I liked homemade hamburgers when I ate meat, a lot tastier, so I think it will be good.

Traditions are an important thing when you start a family - yes, you need to give them some thought, but also you can get rid of the ones you don't like. It's very creative, very Leo, that's why Leos are great mothers...I'm not making any sense, am I? I know..

Thanks for being my friend :)

Neil sagde ...

Thanskgiving hamburger sounds just as good!

Kari sagde ...

Oh kimananda, you did nothing! for Thanksgiving last year? I mean, I know it wasn't actually on Thanksgiving, but it still was something, right? Well, it felt like something to me - so much so, in fact, that I decided I should be allowed to skip Thanksgiving entirely this year and just be thankful for that :)

kimananda sagde ...

Ms. Mood, I am not surprised to hear that this is a Portuguese thing, too, though I hung out more with urbanites who didn't have (or didn't take advantage of) these outlets.

Neil, it wasn't bad actually. I hope your Thanksgiving was great!

KB, yikes, you're right! And I had such a lovely time then...I'll just have to blame my memory lapse on hormones. Not that that is the case...but it's the only excuse I have!

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

Not far from my own Turduckensgivingmastidalia* feas tof ground-turkey Hamburger Helper with some extra veggies and salsa mixed in, and jalapeno peppers, as Turduckensgivingmastidalia Dinner is a meal that should be Felt as much as it is Tasted.

* - a portmanteau of Turducken - mutant poultry product consisting of layers of turkey, duck, and chicken meat; Thanksgiving - american version of Harvest Home, or maybe Brumalia; Xmas - modern american secular winter holiday; yuletide - old Norse winter holiday, lots of fire and axes; and Brumalia - Roman festival starting in late November for worshipping Bacchus, the god of Intoxication, and likely the origin of american Xmas.

kimananda sagde ...

Turduckensgivingmastidalia...I like the sound of that (well, I would like the sound of that if I could figure out how to pronounce it...). Your Turduckensgivingmastidalia feast sounds good, too! Felt as much as tasted...that's a high compliment for food.

Dok Holocaust sagde ...

pronunciation guide, syllable by syllable, sort of

Tur - like the first part of the big bird that goes "Gobble gobble gobble" and gets roasted a lot in November on some continents.

Duck - again, like the bird.

Kens - like the last part of Chicken. can be pronounced "kin" like relatives, depending on regional variation.

giving - like the opposite of taking.

mas - generally "muss" or "mess" depending on intention, or like the end of "Christmas"

Tid - tied, like a knot. or the end of yuletide.

al - ale, like the drink.

ia - EE-ah, like the end of brumalia

I learned how to make portmanteaus from Lewis Carroll. It took a little bit of patience and a whole lotta digging

kimananda sagde ...

Thanks for the guide! And I quite like portmanteaus...which is a good thing, seeing how much I seem to be writing about folksonomies.