Last year I had talked a little bit about Thanksgiving in my
blog post, it is my favorite American holiday. https://polymathtobe.blogspot.com/2021/11/ruminations-memorable-thanksgiving.html
This year I will delve a little bit more into why I have
such a love of the Thanksgiving celebration.
When I first moved to the United States. We lived in Littleton,
Co. My mom had no idea on what to do about the turkey, never having seen a turkey,
nor ever having cooked the turkey before coming to the United States. We were
invited over to our friends’ house and had the whole feast with their family, their
in laws, and their friends; it was my first real taste of American roasted turkey.
I can't say that I had a very deep memory of the turkey itself, although I
enjoyed the dressing, the mashed potatoes, all of the fixings, and, of course,
the pumpkin pie.
Years later, we decided that we would get together with some
of the other expatriate Chinese people in Littleton since they were our family
in Colorado. Everybody was assigned a dish and my mom volunteered to cook the turkey
herself. After much teeth gnashing, she reached out to the mother-in-law of the
family which hosted us on our first Thanksgiving to learn the art of cooking a delicious moist
bird. The mother-in-law marched mom through the paces, taught her how to truss
up the turkey, taught her the tricks of her experience, like putting bacon on
the turkey’s joints so that the skin doesn't crack and get dried up. I don’t
know if the bacon did the trick, but it was delicious. If I remember correctly,
it was a very popular bird.
Of course, being a gathering of Chinese ex-pats, everybody
brought the traditional Chinese holiday dishes to augment the turkey itself.
The dining table was groaning under the weight of dumplings, roast duck —the backup turkey— fried rice, fishes, and all
sorts of non-Thanksgiving feasting foods.
This is where I think my vision of Thanksgiving came from, even
though we've had other large parties and celebrations with lots of people, this
was the official picture that I had of what large celebrations with others feel like. Thanksgiving made an indelible impression on
my mind, a very American ideal of fellowship, of friendship, of sharing meals
with people that you choose to spend
time with rather than having to spend time with. This idea appealed to me
deeply, even to this day.
As I got older, the nature of my parents’ traditional Thanksgiving
party evolved. The nature of the people who came changed. The guests became children of my parents friends who were faced with the
prospect of spending the scant holidays alone in a cold dorm because it was too
far and too expensive to take a trip home, as well as friends who were alone
for that time.
I'd like to think that our family introduced them to the
American tradition of Thanksgiving. At least I hope so. It was always a big
deal for my parents. It was always a time of conviviality and friendship; it was
always a time of togetherness and warmth with people. That is what drew me to
this particular holiday the most.
Christmas just wasn't as big of a deal in my mind, mainly
because it felt like the gratitude and thankfulness so much of an afterthought.
The focus is on the Christian rituals for the birth of Christ rather than
celebrating the very human love of being with other humans. Thanksgiving is a
celebration of people, of us, of friends, of people that we felt liked us, people
that we have something in common with. It is a celebration of friendship and amity.
I'm not sure how it got to be so important in my mind, but it has.
I have much to be thankful for this year. I am enjoying what
I do very much, I have had many chances to indulge in my polymathic curiosity,
as scattered as they are. I have had chances to interact with some very
intelligent young people, to teach, to lead, and to mentor at two universities.
I am most especially thankful that I still have my mom with
me, and she is healthy despite her 97 years of living.
This time of year though, given the cold weather, the early
darkness, and the waning of growth, seems more poignant, it also brings forth my own gratitude to life,
to people, and to the humanity that surrounds us, because that is what we need
to focus on. At this point of time of divisiveness, I feel extremely thankful and
lucky.
I am especially thankful for all the people who are in my
life because it is those of you who are reading this that I am the most thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
