Thanksgiving Omedetou!

I can’t believe I’ve been in Japan for almost two entire years. Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but then something happens and I’m bitch-slapped with reality. Thanksgiving is one of those “somethings.” 

Americans love Thanksgiving. Really, we love any excuse to get a bunch of friends and family together and stuff ourselves silly: tailgate parties, Labor Day, the Fourth of July, to name a few. But Thanksgiving also has that undertone of American history that makes it all the more important because it makes us feel patriotic. 

We tend to glance over the ugly side of American Indian-Pilgrim relations (Yellow Fever, territory wars, ahem) but the important thing is to remember what the purpose of this one tradition. There was a time when the Pilgrims were grateful to the native people who helped them survive their first years in the New World. And they expressed that gratitude with food. 

Food is amazing. It’s not only delicious and nutritious, but it’s universal. No matter who you are, where you come from or where you’re going, food is something everyone shares. Having a place to gather and share your stories is one thing, but the communal act of sharing food and drinks solidifies it into a pact. We shared food, ergo we are homies.

I’m just trying to say that after I missed my family’s Thanksgiving gathering last year, I was very excited to have Thanksgiving with my friends in Japan! Will opened his spacious apartment to a motley crew of Americans and Japanese and their offerings. In American fashion, everyone was asked to bring something. 

While it rained outside, we drank wine and beer and ate a crazy assortment of food: takoyaki (battered octopus balls), fried chicken, salad, jambalaya, maki sushi, spaghetti and meat sauce. I kept things East Coast with herbed chicken, my Grandma’s corn pudding and spiced cranberry sauce with cream cheese. 

We ate and drank, listened to great music and danced once the drinks were really flowing. Towards the end of the meal, we said a toast and then I asked everyone to go around the table and say something they are thankful for. Personally, I was thankful for new and old friends, sharing a delicious meal, and my family’s health. 

Happy Thanksgiving!