5,000 Miles Away, Thanksgiving Just Isn’t The Same
Posted by C. Holland on Nov 27, 2008Today is Thanksgiving in the States, yet I’m not celebrating it here in the mission field. It’s the second round of holidays for me outside of my birth country, so my continued reluctance to participate in uniquely American holidays and their traditions gives me insight into how I perceive these practises.
It’s not that I’m actively refusing to acknowledge things like Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July, or even Cinco de Mayo (hilarious that it’s celebrated in the States, but in my original neck of the woods it is a must). Of the secular holidays, Thanksgiving is actually my favorite because of the emphasis on family interaction—and the lack of emphasis on materialism, conspicuous consumption or family drama that those things seem to attract.
And it’s not that I’m ungrateful. As a missionary I have loads to be thankful for today, as do many others around me.
It’s taken me a while to figure out why I’m not that interested in Thanksgiving over here, and I started to understand that a few key things were missing. Because it is not celebrated in Western Europe, there is no day off for the holiday. Meanwhile, we have ministry commitments today that are much more important than canceling just for the sake of a traditional large group meal.
Though we could attempt to put something together tomorrow, I also realise that being with my family is what makes the day special. We are unable to travel back for this day, and our respective family members are not interested in making the journey over here to be with us. Sitting at our table, either by ourselves or with others here, just seems empty.
Of course, we still acknowledge birthdays and Christmas in the mission field. I just never thought I’d feel this way about uniquely American holidays. It’s certainly not an act of defiance or animosity towards the States, and if we were back in the States I believe we’d be at one of our relative’s houses right now. I think it’s just a situation of reflecting those you are around at the time. Your surroundings definitely affect your actions.
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I jest. Good one!
December 4th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Being in Western Europe as well i find that i miss the traditional American Holidays mainly because i miss my family and friends. But we have taken the opposite approach to the “American” Holidays. We celebrate them full force. Everyone knows we are American, they can tell that when i open my mouth, so we celebrate like Americans. This past thanksgiving we had two parties with about 17 people each. This has deepened our relationships with these people more than anything we have done. We had a Thanksgiving dinner for 50 people about 5 years ago and they are still talking about it. I feel we should use what ever god has given us and if that is the American holidays then let’s celebrate!! Another positive about celebrating with the locals is that it eases the pain of being away from friends and family.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:42 am
Good thoughts, Dan. Perhaps we’ll try this approach on the next holiday.