Here it is the fourth Thursday in November, and in the UK it is just another normal work day. But… it is ok… we are kind of used to not having a US Thanksgiving by now. We are enjoying seeing Thanksgiving from afar, through our family and friends’ social media posts.
When we moved to Japan in 2016, there was no fourth Thursday Thanksgiving holiday… no big family dinner with too much food… no long day of football games and parades. Japan actually does have their own version of Thanksgiving… the Labor Thanksgiving holiday which is celebrated on November 23rd… which coincidentally (this year) coincides with American Thanksgiving.
In Japan, we did find Thanksgiving turkeys in the supermarket, along with most of the other ingredients for a passable Thanksgiving dinner. However, we had no oven in our Japanese apartment, and had no place to roast a turkey. So, for four Thanksgivings — 2016 through 2019, we made due without the big family gathering and Thanksgiving foods. We would usually try to come together virtually at some point over the long weekend, and then spend “real” together time over the Christmas holidays.
When we moved back to the US in 2020, during the pandemic, we mostly canceled the big family get-togethers and still visited mostly virtually. By the time the pandemic frenzy was over, with our immediate family spread all along the east coast, we were used to not doing the big turkey day holiday, and just waited for Christmas holiday together time.
Now… here in the London, UK… we will have another non-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving… lol. We do have a real oven in this apartment, and I suppose I could actually roast a turkey, but it all seems like too much “to do” for a dinner for two. I never even looked at the supermarket to see if they had turkeys. I did find canned pumpkin, and will… at some future date… make a pumpkin pie.
My husband is at work, and it has been a quiet day for me here at home. I did bake bread for the first time in this apartment oven. A co-worker of my husband gave me a bit of her excellent sourdough bread starter, and I have been feeding it and finally baked a batch today. But… other than the bread, our Thanksgiving dinner will likely be a pretty routine week night dinner… usually something simple and quick.
Traditions are important, but sometimes by necessity traditions have to be modified… at least temporarily. As two-time expats, we have had the opportunity to experience so much, and learn so much about our adopted countries’ cultures. Though we miss being with our family for this traditional “family holiday”, we look forward to our next visit back to the US next month for Christmas.
We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a happy family time.
Four Years in Japan ... and now Three Years in London 