Beyond turkeys and traditions

Thanksgiving or Deepavali, festivals unveil layers of celebrations.

‘What are you thankful for?” I froze at this question, with the first bite of a delicious lunch just inches away from my mouth. Everyone else at the lunch table in my boss’ house, assembled for Thanksgiving, was looking at me expectantly. I searched for an apt response, “Er...hmmm… oh, to my parents for helping me come to the US.” This was met with appreciative nods of approval indicating that I had passed the test.

Thanksgiving is perhaps a tradition very unique to the US. The tradition of offering thanks for good rains, abundant harvests, safe journeys and other blessings in life, dates back several centuries. Typically, there is a family lunch attended by every family member,
and some friends too, where each
person makes it a point to express gratitude for people, events and
circumstances in their lives.   

Thanksgiving also has an ‘official’ side to it. While turkeys are consumed in copious quantities by the entire population, the President officially ‘pardons’ and sets free one or two turkeys at the White House. And, at the local level, most towns sponsor parades and provide dazzling displays of lights at public squares.

There are several ‘byproducts’ of the Thanksgiving phenomenon. Since it always falls on the fourth Thursday of November, with the following Friday declared an add-on holiday by most schools and businesses, one is guaranteed four consecutive days off from work. This results in major travel activity. Even with increased fares, it is not uncommon to see some people spend most of their holiday in airports due to delayed flights.  Major roadways become parking lots with traffic jams.

Over the years, commercial activity has completely redefined Thanksgiving to the point where many youngsters of today associate the holiday with an annual shopping spree, looking for deals on the most coveted items such as iPhones, Kindle and smart TVs. In the bygone era, people would queue up in front of major retail shops early (even overnight) on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving). When the shop doors opened, there would literally be a stampede as everyone tried to grab the most coveted items at unheard of prices. Unfortunately (or fortunately), this has now become a thing of the past as most discount shopping now takes place online, several days, even weeks, before the designated Black Friday.

Thanksgiving also informally kicks off the holiday spirit and season that goes all the way up to Christmas and New Year. Colorful decorations adorn various houses and streets. There are gated communities who meticulously decorate their houses and common areas to the point of making them a tourist attraction with streams of visitors driving by every night.

For Indians here, Deepavali, also a festival of lights, happens just a few weeks before Thanksgiving, marking an even earlier start to the festive season, bringing in the much needed energy and enthusiasm during the winter months otherwise marked by short days and very cold nights.