It was the last Thursday in November, but it was not beginning to feel a lot like Thanksgiving. Although the Germans do have a day in the religious calendar for celebrating the harvest (which, in an impressive display of good sense, is after the harvesting in early October and not in the the-fields-are-already-covered-with-snow November), they really do need to have a Thanksgiving. Even without the lovely, little story about the Pilgrims and the Indians, Thanksgiving is extremely important to Americans. In short, it is absolutely necessary in order to prevent the ubiquitous Christmas music and decorations from coming out in the shopping centers too early. Four weeks of "Jingle Bells" is enough! And I think this is exactly what the US Federal Government knew when they instituted the national holiday in this century of capitalistic expansion. The Germans, having no Thanksgiving, have unfortunately no official date for the begin of the Christmas season. This means that Christmas overkill starts late October (or Oktober if your German). Aaaaack! There is, however, one thing we Americans (i.e., our government) can learn from the Germans about holidays like Christmas and New Years... they take two days to celebrate. That's right, the Germans get two days off for each holiday!
So I'm at a Thanksgiving dinner organized for us Fulbrighters here in Munich, and I'm thinking to myself: "turkey.... good.... stuffing.... yummy.... potatoes.... natch.... cranberry sauce.... ok, ok, we can't expect the Germans to be able to find everything.... uh, is that cabbage?... what is cabbage doing here???... Aaaaaack!" Quiz: What do the Germans eat for Christmas dinner?? You guessed it.... Fondue! Ok, it sounds odd, but it really is a super idea. The whole family sits around the table and while their meat cooks in the fondue pot they have lots of time to talk with each other. The insane stuffing-yourself-sick-ritual that we Americans have just leads to a chorus of chewing and then a family of beached whales lying in front of the TV/tree (Thanksgiving/Christmas, respectively). Aaaaack!
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It was the last Thursday in November, but it was not beginning to feel a lot like Thanksgiving. Although the Germans do have a day in the religious calendar for celebrating the harvest (which, in an impressive display of good sense, is after the harvesting in early October and not in the the-fields-are-already-covered-with-snow November), they really do need to have a Thanksgiving. Even without the lovely, little story about the Pilgrims and the Indians, Thanksgiving is extremely important to Americans. In short, it is absolutely necessary in order to prevent the ubiquitous Christmas music and decorations from coming out in the shopping centers too early. Four weeks of "Jingle Bells" is enough! And I think this is exactly what the US Federal Government knew when they instituted the national holiday in this century of capitalistic expansion. The Germans, having no Thanksgiving, have unfortunately no official date for the begin of the Christmas season. This means that Christmas overkill starts late October (or Oktober if your German). Aaaaack! There is, however, one thing we Americans (i.e., our government) can learn from the Germans about holidays like Christmas and New Years... they take two days to celebrate. That's right, the Germans get two days off for each holiday!