Happy Thanksgiving!

Yes indeed, it is the most yankee of holidays – Thanksgiving.

Sure, you might think independence day should have that distinction, but I beg to differ! You see, most countries have their independence day – but only the US has a national holiday given over purely to the sentiment of gratitude. Given that many other countries (and Ireland included) would see the US as a fairly arrogant nation, I think it’s every US citizen’s duty, and especially those residing abroad, to let the world know about this revered day of implicit humility.

What? You may be asking – that crazy day of gluttony and ill-advised post-dinner football games on the front lawn? That horrifying day when 10,000 relatives descend on the house to create mayhem . . . and what of the horrible 15 weeks afterwards when leftover turkey is served in increasingly desperate disguises as an item in every meal of the day? Turkey and eggs for breakfast. Turkey burgers for lunch. Turkey lasagne for dinner. Turkey and ice cream for dessert.

No, says I, you’re missing the point.

Our first year in Ireland our cousins in Dublin very generously gave over their kitchen to my wife’s culinary inclinations in order to discover for themselves what this mysterious holiday was all about. I recall being cornered by one particulary fascinated male relative that year who said, “So, what is this Thanksgiving all about? I mean, what do you do? Do ya just go around saying thank you all day or . . . what is it?

He wasn’t the only one mystified. The Irish see an awful lot of references to turkey day in movies and on television, but they’re quite unclear as to what is going on. I explained about the pilgrims and the native americans and the harvest feast. I told them about how the natives had shown the Plymouth settlers how to survive and how they had held a thanksgiving feast to thank their new friends and how this is still the feast we celebrate today.

I considered mentioning the subsequent genocide and smallpox blankets and the fact that the thanksgiving feast story was actually fabricated by Abraham Lincoln after the civil war to reunite a war-torn, divided country . . . but then I saw their faces all lit up with the wonderful sentiments so I just smiled and poured myself another beer.

Yes, we introduced them to such exotic dishes as pumpkin pie, onion dip, cranberry sauce and string beans with crispy bacon. We gave thanks at the table for this new land we had arrived in – these friendly natives who had given us so much assistance. I even held off of any jokes about wifey’s “people” (wifey is part Modoc indian) for the whole day, something I know she was certainly thankful for.

So this year we’ll be having a quiet little affair at home. A larger gathering of local ex-pats was cancelled this afternoon, so I was surprised and pleased to find fresh turkeys for sale in Dunnes Stores this evening. Looks like munchkin will be introduced to her mother’s heavenly stuffing. I will be eating my weight in pumpkin pie.

God bless Ireland.