Do you have to be American to have thanksgiving?

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  • _Bob_
    _Bob_ Posts: 1,487 Member
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    It's they day you bite the bullet and try your best to be nice to the family members you cant stand.

    usually in consists of stuffing you face and then watching football
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
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    Thanksgiving is really just about giving thanks for what we have and, as others have mentioned, it's a day to gather with loved ones and enjoy a great meal together. It's not a religious holiday at all.

    The people who first celebrated Thanksgiving as a harvest feast struggled through a horrific first winter in Massachusetts where over half of the original settlers perished from cold, hunger and disease. With the help of the local indigenous population, they were able to successfully grow and forage for enough food that following year that they celebrated it with a feast that lasted three days.

    Some families sit around the table before eating and each person gives a short statement about what they are thankful for, but not every family does that. If your friends do, you might want to take a moment to think of something to say. Happy Thanksgiving!
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    Of course not. It's just a time to appreciate your loved ones and recognize all the things in your life that you are thankful for. You know, it didn't exactly start as an American thing. It's actually a religious celebration that is documented as far back as the Old Testament. Many churches have a celebration called "Thanksgiving" at other times of the year other than the nationally recognized Thanksgiving. Americans embraced it as a national holiday due to a mention of a Thanksgiving tradition in American history in which the pilgrims had invited the Indians to participate in the feast because they had provided the pilgrims with the knowledge of how to cultivate crops on the unfamiliar terrain.

    Anyway, long story short, Thanksgiving is for anyone and everyone that wants to recognize all that they are thankful for in a celebration.
  • sunnygirl19
    sunnygirl19 Posts: 60 Member
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    My dad and I are Americans but live in Canada and celebrate both Canadian and American Thanksgiving. Its a way to focus on whats important to you, eat great food and enjoy each other's company! :heart:
  • CollegiateGrief
    CollegiateGrief Posts: 552 Member
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    Thanksgiving is also jokingly known as "Turkey day" so. Hah. It's really a lighthearted holiday meant to spend time with family and friends and eat weird traditional foods. No pressure. I don't think you need to feel weird about it at all.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,229 Member
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    It's not a religious holiday at all.

    You're wrong. It's in the old testament. The first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Jews, as God commanded, after 40 years of wandering in the dessert and entering into Jerusalem.
  • witchy_wife
    witchy_wife Posts: 792 Member
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    I'm Pagan but celebrate Christmas every year with family. To me its just a great way to get together with family, catch up, eat too much and give presents.

    It may have particular meanings way back but I just think be thankfull of what you have and enjoy your evening.
  • scapez
    scapez Posts: 2,018 Member
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    The only prerequisite is that you have to like turkey. :flowerforyou:

    Hope you enjoy the day, the company, and the food.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    So i'm British. My best friend married a girl from Mahwah, NJ and they both live here in the UK.

    They have kindly invited my Wife and I to Thanksgiving dinner and we've excepted because its nice to be considered such close friends that they'd like to celebrate with us. The problem (or not really a problem) for me is that I recognise Thanksgiving as an American celebration with friends and family to give thanks to their forefathers. Its also a celebration of the end of Harvest which for us was ages ago.. I have plenty to be thankful for including these friends but it doesnt stop me from feeling slightly out of place?!

    What does thanksgiving mean to you? do you think you have to be American/Canadian to really celebrate thanksgiving?

    If my Jewish relatives can participate in Christmas celebrations with Christian friends and in-laws, I see no reason a Brit can't enjoy Thanksgiving.

    Honestly, other than eating a lot of food and spending time with people you care about, there isn't much else to it.
  • allifantastical
    allifantastical Posts: 946 Member
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    I'm not Mexican but I celebrate Cinco de Mayo every year.

    I'll drink to that. Me too!
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
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    It's an excuse to hang out with friends, sip wine, enjoy great food, and count your blessings. Enjoy. :drinker:
  • iluvprettyshoes
    iluvprettyshoes Posts: 605 Member
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    That was very sweet of them to invite you! I would definitely say ok to go. Thanksgiving now is a time to be reminded how much we do have to be thankful for. We take so much for granted and it's a time to remember that and give thanks for all our blessings.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Best Fourth of July party I ever attended was on a RAF base.

    That is one of the funniest things I ever heard! That isn't illegal in the UK??? :wink:
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
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    Thanksgiving is a harvest feast. There's probably something similar to it on a wiccan calendar. I say 'go with it'!
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
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    So i'm British. My best friend married a girl from Mahwah, NJ and they both live here in the UK.

    They have kindly invited my Wife and I to Thanksgiving dinner and we've excepted because its nice to be considered such close friends that they'd like to celebrate with us. The problem (or not really a problem) for me is that I recognise Thanksgiving as an American celebration with friends and family to give thanks to their forefathers. Its also a celebration of the end of Harvest which for us was ages ago.. I have plenty to be thankful for including these friends but it doesnt stop me from feeling slightly out of place?!

    What does thanksgiving mean to you? do you think you have to be American/Canadian to really celebrate thanksgiving?

    You definitely don't have to be American or Canadian. Actually, in the U.S. the first Thanksgiving dinner was celebrated long before we even became a nation. It was a feast celebrating and giving thanks to God for a bountiful harvest following a harsh winter that many settlers of that time did not survive. Today we celebrate and give thanks for all that we have been given...and not just material possessions. It's good for everyone, no matter your citizenship, to take time to celebrate and be thankful for what you have been given.
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,611 Member
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    Best Fourth of July party I ever attended was on a RAF base.

    That is one of the funniest things I ever heard! That isn't illegal in the UK??? :wink:

    You have never seen so many pale people fail at softball lol.
  • EatClean_WashUrNuts
    EatClean_WashUrNuts Posts: 1,590 Member
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    Thanksgiving is an AMERICAN tradition adopted by many countries. If you want to be specific, yes. you need to be an American....As my British grandmother, ironically born on the 4th of July, would always say... "Let's get together for some damn yankee food."
  • JSheehy1965
    JSheehy1965 Posts: 404
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    I'm a Brit, married to an American. And I LOVE Thanksgiving. To me, it's one of the best holidays. Family getting together, no presents and a great dinner and a time to reflect on what one is thankful for. I think it's a great tradition, and I'm glad you're getting to experience it. Enjoy!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Just to give you an idea of a typical Thanksgiving for me:

    Last year was my first time ever hosting since we stayed home instead of traveling to family and I don't live near anyone anymore. I invited all my local friends who had nowhere to go.

    We had turkey, alcohol, cornbread casserole, creamed onions (first time ever and so much different than I expected and SO GOOD!), rolls, sweet potatoes ... Basically a lot of food.

    So, we hung out for a while while the food cooked, ate, talked, drank and played some board games and laughed a lot. And then people took leftovers home and I cleaned up the next day.
  • rgrange
    rgrange Posts: 236 Member
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    Yes, you have to be American. You absolutely cannot partake in family meals of turkey and delicious sides at any time if you are not American.

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