China Charlie

A weekly column about living in Dongguan, for those new to Dongguan, new to China, or anyone that likes a good story.  Written by an expat  who first came to Dongguan in 1987,  hopefully this series of articles will be both entertaining and informative.

Archives:

Welcome to China Charlie

Dongguan Driving Challenges

Fun With Air Travel in China

Vertical Speed Bumps

Language and Culture

Mobile Phones and Other Stuff

Karen Carpenter, Kenny G and the Chinese Water Torture… . .

Dan Gerous, where are you when we need  you?

Life in hotels in the “old days”, a “Moon Shot”, and the saga of the pink panties….

Was There Life After M*A*S*H

Camaraderie of Dong Guan in the “old days”.. . . 

Who's on First, China Style

Life at the Ramada/Guangzhou, Resting trucks, Dynamite, and other stuff

Is Dongguan becoming too civilized?

 Roadside Word Games, China Style

Thoughts on American Thanksgiving

The Traffic Food Chain

Hong Kong Sleigh Ride

Those Nuisance Messages

Will the Grinch Steal Christmas?

New Year's Recap

You're Probably in China If..

Chain Reactions for Most Situations

Just When You Thought You've Seen it All

A contemporary look at the American Thanksgiving Holiday… . .  .

Next Thursday marks the celebration of the American Thanksgiving Holiday.

The first Thanksgiving was a celebration of a bountiful harvest in 1621 by the 56 surviving members of a group 102 that originally sailed from Europe on the “Mayflower”the year before, plus 91 Indians that helped them get through the winter. Their “feast” included Fish, Lobster, Venison berries and vegetables (except potatoes-they were still considered poisonous).

Since that first feast, the holiday has been celebrated on several different dates, including June 29^th, the fourth Thursday of November, the third Thursday of November, and finally in 1941 settled back on the fourth Thursday of November by law.

Where the first Thanksgiving was giving thanks for surviving the winter the year before, a bountiful harvest, and local people that helped them survive, the meaning of the holiday we will be celebrating this week is decidedly different. The global effects of the holiday in this day and age are way beyond anything that the 147 people at the first Thanksgiving celebration could possibly imagined..

The Thanksgiving holiday as we celebrate it these days pretty much marks the beginning of the most important retail season of the year in the Christian World, and the Thanksgiving holiday weekend (at 4 days) as the biggest retail weekend of the year in America. Because of the importance of the holiday to the overall retail situation, in 1939 then President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the holiday from the 4^th Thursday of November to the 3^rd, to allow one more week in the Christmas Season.  The holiday stayed there for 2 years, until FDR got tired of the public uproar, and changed it back to the 4^th Thursday.

The holiday also marks the beginning of the busiest time of the year for travel in North America, with people wanting to spend time with their families during the holiday season.

So most of the celebrating is in North America. How much effect can it have globally? A lot.

Look at one of the busiest times of the year for export shipping in the producing countries, and you’ll see that it peaks in the late summer/early fall for shipment in early autumn to allow for distribution before Thanksgiving. The increases in travel in North America means a bigger demand for oil. All of this translates to more income for the countries supplying North America.

So how do North Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, other than spending a lot of extra money?

It’s been a while since I was in that part of the world at Thanksgiving, but as I recall, the first of the preparations involved selecting the correct Turkey. This could get a little complicated, as you had to get one that was big enough for the number of people expected, without having “leftovers” for more than two weeks after the holiday (although a cold Turkey sandwich would go pretty well a day or two after the holiday).

On Thanksgiving morning, the ladies were up early, getting the Turkey ready, making stuffing, and getting the pies “in the oven”. By the time the guys and kids got up, the house was full of enough great odors (roasting Turkey, baking Pies, cranberries being cooked, etc) to keep a body salivating for a month.

Usually us guys (and the kids) were smart enough to stay away from the kitchen, and would sit down in front of the T.V. to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parades from New York, Toronto and Detroit and (with the smells in the house) anticipate the great meal being prepared.

When the table was ready, the meal would start with a prayer, and then everyone would “dig in”, with overeating the order of the day. After the meal was finished and the table “cleared”, it wasn’t unusual for friends to “stop by” for coffee and desert. This would lead into the guys “watching” an ‘merican Football Game, quite often with their eyes closed (“whatta’’ ya’ mean, asleep. I was just resting my eyes”), and the gals discussing ”girl” things and watching old holiday movies from the 1940s and50s usually starring James Stewart or Maureen O’Hara.

Later it would be figuring out where everyone was going to shop tomorrow, and then waddle off to bed.

Thanksgiving here is usually different than in North America, but one thing always stays the same and that’s our wish to our readers , to have a great holiday.

   “Y’all have a rice week now”