American Views Abroad

 
Germans celebrate Thanksgiving in October on a Sunday, which is also their selected day for voting. It is more a thanks-for-the-harvest fest which mainly takes place in the countryside or in churches. There is no particular tradition of family sitting down for a special dinner. Most people here know of the US tradition of turkey day. It is, as far as I can tell from abroad, still the only US holiday that remains non-commercial, except for all the sales and Christmas shopping which start the next day. The only way to explain what Thanksgiving means to a German is to say it is similar to the Holy Evening of December 24, but without the gifts.

This week has been particularly eventful here with Germany electing its first woman chancellor and it has been extraordinarily interesting watching her take office. I never voice my opinions on German politics since I am not a German citizen, but as a woman, I am delighted to see more of my gender in high office. More about this in another post. My husband suffered a mild stroke last Friday, his 60th birthday was yesterday, and US Thanksgiving gives this week an emotional tug. However, world politics doesn't take a break and war, killings and hardships go on. A day like today is a day to stop and give thanks, but also to think about where and who we are. It's more than just turkey. It's about people. It's about US.
- posted by Gloria @ 8:02 PM