As effortless as my writing would appear to some people, sometimes I can stare at the computer for long periods of time without knowing what to write, seeking to organize my thoughts.  Most often I write because of something I have read, or seen, or am pondering, but today there appears to be no overwhelming theme, except the fact that Thanksgiving is approaching, and so that makes for a suitable way to organize today’s rambling.

Even here in Thailand, Legacy Institute gives Thanksgiving as a day off.  Many of the Legacy students the past two weekends have been home (at somebody’s home village at least) for Lahu Thanksgiving festivals [1].  Judging from what I have heard there are some differences between the way they celebrate Thanksgiving and the traditions that are extant in the United States.  For one, there is no connection in Thailand between Thanksgiving and sports that I have been able to discover, or parades.  Instead, Thanksgiving appears to be connected with church and with finding romantic partners (similar to the “feast fling” that I am familiar with but have been fortunate enough not to engage in so far, I imagine).

In trying to plan what to do this year for Thanksgiving I was at a bit of a loss, not knowing the costs of the Western-style Thanksgiving dinners in Chiang Mai.  Due to some sleuthing from a fellow teacher who is much more adept at visiting the expat websites here than I am, we found a reasonable price for a restaurant and will be treated courtesy of Legacy (something to be thankful for) for our turkey feasts, about which I will have a lot more to comment this week.  Now all that remains is trying to figure out when I want to make reservations (some sort of a lunchtime meal sounds good) and how to make the trip dealing with logistics, since it will require a yellow sung tow trip to the Gat Luang in Chiang Mai and then a considerable amount of hiking through the east side of town along the river to get to the restaurant.

Thanksgiving is one of the secular holidays that I am most fond of.  For one, the festival itself was a type of the Feast of Tabernacles when it was first historically present in the United States, a sort of “thanking God for survival and the generosity of others who helped feed us” sort of festival.  It was then made into an official and regular festival during the depths of the Civil War [2] as a way to remind Americans even in the face of disaster that they had much to thank God for.  As someone who feels gratitude but often has a difficult time showing it, I need all the practice in thanksgiving that I can get. It’s nice to know that even so far away from my homeland that I can keep such a day with others of like mind, and even if some people are only there for the turkey, at least those of us that wish to think about deeper matters can do so over mashed potatoes and stuffing and pumpkin pie.  That’s something to be thankful to our creator for indeed.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/mai-sa-nuk/

[2] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2010/11/24/a-brief-history-of-thanksgiving-as-we-know-it/