Thanksgiving?

On Thursday my phone beeped with a text message. "Happy Thanksgiving!" an American friend in Toulouse had sent me.

"Oh yeah, it's Thanksgiving today..." I thought. It had really slipped my mind that it was a huge American holiday, one that I used to love celebrating.

It's hard to put my finger on exactly what has changed, but I feel like I've crossed a threshold when forgetting Thanksgiving seems like no big deal.

I think it's partly due to the fact that during my 4 years in college I never celebrated Thanksgiving with my family. Going to school in Massachusetts just didn't make it possibly to go home a few weeks before the end of the semester when I would be returning anyway.

Then there's the change that my parents haven't had 'traditional' Thanksgivings in the past few years like when I was growing up. This year they returned to the family reunion type get-together, but the last two years they've celebrated with the neighbors, which kind of seems sacrilegious to me.

There's also the simple fact that you're not surrounded by a holiday culture in France for Thanksgiving. Stores aren't selling turkeys or pumpkin filling. No one is talking of days off or seeing their family. Thursday was a regular work day for me.

I didn't totally ignore the holiday: the Saturday before Thanksgiving the French-American club in Toulouse had a dinner at a restaurant that serves a more-or-less traditional meal (if the Pilgrims started their dinner with foie gras that is :) ). My first time going I was disappointed that the food wasn't great (pumpkin pie by a French chef just isn't great), but now I go to see people and have fun with friends instead of eating traditional dishes.

And I think the last element that makes Thanksgiving fade in importance is my creeping Frenchification. During the Toussaint vacation, I accompanied my husband's family to the village cemetery to put flowers on the family tomb. It felt like the right thing to do: we went and ate together, then visited the cemetery, then visited the cousin and her grandson who still live in the village. I thought of my own family, who seem rootless and forgetful of their ancestors in comparison.

I do think it's important to have special moments during the year. Celebrating with friends and families mark a break with the regular work schedule that makes the weeks and months fly by. Looking at pictures of your celebrations bring back memories as well.

Speaking of which, time to figure out which Gîte we're going to rent with friends to celebrate New Year's in style! We have a whole weekend that needs meals planned and games found. I'm sure that 10 people somewhere out in the countryside will be a weekend of fun.