I have to admit, it doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving to me. At the moment I am the only American working with Hope Alive! (Catharine Coon, our director is traveling in the USA right now and the other mid-termers that I used to work with have all returned to the States). All the usual indicators that help anticipate the big day are absent.
No Thanksgiving ads on TV. No Black Friday deals. No four day weekend.
Instead of cold temperatures and chilly wind, I get sun and a warm breeze. The grass is green and flourishing. The trees are full of leaves and bursting with fruit. Flowers are in bloom.
I’m surrounded by Ugandans to whom ‘thanksgiving’ means a praise offered up to God for something good that has happened or a church service, dedicated to celebrating all God has done, which culminates in the joyful giving of funds or goods for His service.
In fact, though it is Thanksgiving, I’m actually at the Hope Alive! office right now completing my work day. Before you get up in arms about this fact, I must hurry to say that I will be celebrating Thanksgiving…tomorrow. Is it sacrilegious to observe turkey day on a day other than Thursday and by partaking of chicken instead of turkey?
Anybody who knows me knows that I am a strict adherer to tradition. Nearly every holiday (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) has a set of family traditions that have to be done just so, and I fight tooth and nail to preserve them. However, since living in a couple of other countries, I’ve been able to embrace a few new traditions and accept a few changes based on practicality’s sake.
First of all, turkeys here are small, tough, and super-expensive. So, as far as the main course of Thanksgiving dinner goes, I’ve reconciled to myself that chicken is good enough.
Celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday, however, takes a bit more work, and I’m still not quite ready to embrace it fully. Here is my reasoning why: I’m a member of the Kampala Symphony Orchestra. This orchestra is made up of many different nationalities. At the moment, however, I am the only American. We’re preparing for our Christmas concert, which will be this coming weekend. Thursday evening is our dress rehearsal. It is the only day we have to practice in the venue and with the Kampala Singers (the choir with whom we will perform). Rehearsal begins at 6pm, but with evening traffic, the commute there takes roughly an hour. If I were to celebrate Thanksgiving today I would barely have time to enjoy the meal before I rush off for rehearsal. My friends, with whom I am spending Thanksgiving with, graciously suggested that we move our celebration to Friday so that we can have the entire day to relax, eat, and spend time together. After considering the pros and cons to the idea, I got on board with this plan. So, for the year 2011, I am making an exception to the rule. I am celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday. Hopefully this will be a Thanksgiving I will always remember…and an exception that I will never have to repeat J.
Still, I am very grateful for the good friends and many other things God has placed in my life, and for a day to recognize and celebrate them.
Happy Thanksgiving!
