Thanksgiving in the US

          Where I come from, there are a variety of ethnic subcultures that practice many various rituals for different cultural celebrations each year. Often times, I am lucky to be able to witness and participate in those special occasions, due to the diverse range of friends I have.

            In the last four years since I have lived in the states, there is one occasion that is celebrated every year on the 27^th of November. Thanksgiving is one of the events filled with rituals and topped off with new memories every year. I had the pleasure of joining one of my teammates and her family for this wonderful holiday almost every year since I moved here.

            My teammate, Ellie and I would leave Bozeman on a Wednesday afternoon and drive for about two and a half hours get to her hometown, Great Falls. On Wednesday evenings of Thanksgiving week, the family would normally go to dinner at a popular local restaurant. This is followed by the latest movie out in the theaters. Sometimes, the kids would go to a different movie than the parents.

            The real fun begins the next morning. The whole family gets up at 7 in the morning for their annual and ritual ‘Burn the Bird’ run. Long distance running is probably my least favorite thing to do. But since it was a ritual for the family and the community of Great Falls, I had no choice but to experience it (only for my first year). Ellie’s mother usually does not do the run either. Instead, she stays home and begins preparations for the big meal that evening and I often stay back to help her in the kitchen.

            Every year, Ellie’s mother hand-makes a beautiful centerpiece with fresh flowers, for the dining table to honor the special occasion. When Ellie’s father comes home from the run, it is a ritual to turn on the football channel, where he watches his favorite team, the Steelers. He is so passionate about his team that he pulls out all his Steelers’ gears, which include towels, handkerchiefs, hats, etc., creating a shrine in hopes that his team will win.

            Ellie’s father is also always the person in-charge of taking out the turkey from the oven, and making sure the bird is cooked all the way through. Then, he carves the turkey for serving on a silver platter. As we all sit down with our plates filled with food, we joined hands to say grace before finally stuffing our faces.

            After the very fulfilling meal, the young adults and I prepare for the madness of Black Friday shopping by looking at all the catalogs, and circling down every item we could possibly want to get, for when the stores open at 2 a.m. Nowadays, Black Friday shopping starts as early as Thursday night—breaking the normal tradition and ritual. Stores are not even as chaotic and packed anymore these days, because everyone does their shopping early. I did, however, get to experience the true Black Friday shopping madness, on my first Thanksgiving in Great Falls, with the extremely long lines outside Target and the long waiting hours.

            I consider myself quite lucky to have observed and experienced Thanksgiving the way Ellie and her family does it, the true traditional American way.