But you simply cannot do that, or you'll get depressed. It is best to celebrate however you can, and for me, that meant a slight twist on the traditions.
Thanksgiving is clearly not celebrated in Europe, and many French people have no idea that it even exists in America. Everyone here is going crazy setting up for Christmas (the huge tree in Place Kleber has been up for weeks, and there are lights all around the city). I love the Christmas festivity, but.... it felt like Strasbourg had ignored a holiday. Luckily, Holy Cross still observed Thanksgiving from across the ocean.
After our last class, we headed over to Malou's house for a real Thanksgiving feast. It was dinner, not a late lunch, since classes are not cancelled over here in France! All the classics were included, of course: turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pumpkin pie, and apple crumble. My mom (my real, biological mom) was even awesome enough to send a tin of homemade ginger snap cookies with my dad last week, so I brought those to our little celebration (a little taste of home!).
It was a really fun night, don't get me wrong, but it didn't quite feel like Thanksgiving to me. However, it was my first experience with a far holiday away from home, and I learned that the group you are with becomes you family for such holidays.
Ultimately, though, Thanksgiving is meant to remind us of how blessed we are, and I was certainly remembering all the things that I am so thankful for throughout the holiday.
And before I completely fall into a Christmas frenzy, I just wanted to mention Malou's cat (who is aptly named Cadeau, meaning "gift" in French) even though Cadeau is seemingly the grumpiest cat in France. She obviously wanted to participate in our Thanksgiving feast:
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| Strasbourg is ready for Christmas... and so am I ! |
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