Thanksgiving

I'm not big on the Thanksgiving holiday. First, it revolves around meat, and specifically some poor turkey. Then there are meat-related dishes. Lastly, it usually involves football; either watching it or playing it or both. I have less than little interest in football, be it college or pro. So, thus, when we moved to Israel, I thought absolutely not at all about celebrating an American holiday that I didn't particularly like, in Israel.

However, Thursday morning about 10 a.m., I began to entertain Thanksgiving thoughts. Why not make it into a real Thanks giving time? Why not make it a nice evening with friends and talk about the past year? And, most importantly, why not have an excuse to make pumpkin pie?

So, I got on the phone and called some friends. And they came!

Here was the last-minute vegetarian thanksgiving meal:
sweet potato soup
red rice with sweet potatoes, apples and pecans
salad with pecans and dried cranberries
fried tofu, fried tempeh
pumpkin pie!
and our friends brought: potato muffins, couscous with vegetables, yummy bread, and red wine.

It included all the highlights: sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cranberry, and pecan. Pretty good for last minute, I thought.

The meal and the company were delightful. We were all extremely grateful for the end of Republican presidencies. Most of the guests (and us includede) are new to Israel, and were thankful to have made it through our first year here.

We shared childhood Thanksgiving memories. My favorite story was shared by an Israeli who lived in the US for 10 years. At her first Thanksgiving meal, she didn't understand where the "holiday" went. She thought: well, there's a lot of food, people eating, people watching football, but...where is the service and the prayer for the holiday? I thought that was a hoot. In Israel, every holiday has some special Jewish service and includes special prayers. I guess for Thanksgiving, we pray for winning football teams, family gathering, and alka-seltzer.

In Boston, Bastille Day was celebrated broadly. I always wondered, "why are the French celebrating Bastille Day here, in the US?" Now I know. It's home. It's connection to home. It's remembering who you are and your childhood. I'm glad I took the time to remember this holiday.