An American Thanksgiving.
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To many non-Americans - and, indeed, many Americans - the words "American Thanksgiving" conjure up ideas of exactly the opposite to what they really mean. Whenever I mentioned hosting Thanksgiving dinner the following words reoccurred throughout the responses I received: fat Americans, turkeys, pilgrims, indians too much food, American football, Black Friday, family fighting, lazy, and (of course) pumpkin pie.
Those words bothered me. While, yes, some or all of those words may ring true in some homes across America, they aren't the definition of Thanksgiving. I really wanted to show my Norwegian family and friends what I grew up knowing of Thanksgiving and how important the holiday is to me.
The actual history of Thanksgiving has been lost over the years. We may never know exactly what happened (or didn't happen) back when the early European settlers made their homes in North America. What we do know is that a public day of giving thanks has been around for at least 250 years. American Presidents used Thanksgiving multiple times as an attempt to bring together a country in turmoil. Political play? Sure. But the root of the action was to bring people together.
That is the meaning of Thanksgiving to me. No legends about pilgrims and indians. No political plays. No marketing ploys. Simply bring people together. Thank those people for being in your life. Tell them what they mean to you. Go the extra mile to set aside a day to spend with loved ones and celebrate them.
So that is what I wanted to do. I wanted to bring the people in my family and community together to celebrate them and tell them "thank you" for all they have done for me in this year of transitioning to Norwegian life and culture. I wanted to share some of my traditions with them as a way of giving a little bit back to them.
Last year, in 2013, SA and I held a "small" Thanksgiving in our house. We had 14 people come to dinner and everyone brought a dish with them to share - many of which were American recipes. But the house is so small and just can't comfortably hold that many people. At some point this past summer my sister-in-law mentioned that the neighbors were asking about Thanksgiving. We also had two family members move back to the area with their families and we really wanted to include them as well. So...how was I going to accommodate neighbors reaching out and more family coming?
Down the street from our house is a saw mill that has been converted into a sort-of event building. (And this past summer they built a beautiful amphitheatre!) So we rented out the part that had been converted into a nice dining room for our Thanksgiving day. I painted an invitation (see: top of this page). I started a Facebook event. I made a list of typical American Thanksgiving dishes in case anyone attending wanted to make them to bring. I asked that everyone bring something to share which was tradition in my family. My husband and I would provide the turkeys, stuffing and pumpkin pie.
<<Insert huge record scratch sound here>>
Shortly after starting planning this lovely event I went to the doctor for an ingrown toenail. Now, I know the timing doesn't sound optimal - and it certainly wasn't - but the only time the doctor had before the end of the year to perform the procedure was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Which means it was 3 days before our Thanksgiving since we held it on Saturday. I had to have the procedure done before the end of the year so I had no choice. So, I ended up having half the toenail from my left big toe removed...right before the holiday where you stand in the kitchen and cook for hours on end...
Well, Saturday rolled around and by some miracle I had:
- roasted two turkeys
- had a third turkey in the oven to look pretty on the table
- baked six loaves of bread to make stuffing
- made two gallons of homemade bone broth from the bones of the turkeys I had already roasted
- baked three batches of stuffing using the homemade bread and broth (one with giblets)
- made a gallon of turkey gravy from the drippings of all three turkeys
- baked a pumpkin cake with streusel topping
- baked two pumpkin pies (for the first time!!) [will blog this recipe later...you will want it!!!]
Now, I must interject with a much needed acknowledgement. My husband is THE BEST. He was so supportive through the whole ordeal. He put up with my tears from pain in my foot and anxiety about pulling off this big dinner. He forced me to sit on an office chair while cooking so I could scoot around the kitchen. He kept making me sit down so he could put slippers on my feet (I have a tendency to go barefoot a little too much). He is my hero, my rock, my Nitpicky Nurse Nelly. Eg elskar deg kjempemasse bamsefar!!
He wasn't the only one that helped prepare for the day. My brother-in-law, who happens to be caretaker of the saw mill we were using, went over to the building and heated up the room using the wood burning stove as it doesn't have central heating. It was so cozy and warm when we arrived to decorate! So a big thank you goes out to him for arranging the rental and helping warm it up!
Another big help setting up the dinner was my friend Laura who happens to be American! We met at Norwegian school, we're both tour guides and we both love Thanksgiving. She came early to help us take everything over to the mill and helped decorate the tables, light the candles, make whipped cream, arrange the buffet setup, etc. Thank you, Laura!! Unfortunately I don't have a good picture of you from the day!! (I didn't have any time to take pictures so SA took some.)
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| Our dining room. |
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| Laura and I setting up the buffet. |
In the above picture you might notice my footwear looks...different. I had cut a hole in an old sock to slip my bandaged toe through and then wore a flipflop on that foot while wearing a clog on the other. I just couldn't wear a shoe on my left foot yet. The get-up worked but wasn't too pretty. But who cares?! There was turkey to be eaten!
I had been concerned about how we were going to keep the food warm because it doesn't have a modern kitchen. So we borrowed some large hotplates from the ski center up the road (THANK YOU!!), we brought our own microwave and stand mixer from home and we kept the carved turkey in the crockpot on low. And we crossed our fingers that we wouldn't blow a fuse!
Well, everything was set up and ready to go and at 4pm people started to roll in! Pretty soon we had amassed almost 40 people! Earlier in the week I had written a speech - in nynorsk! - to give before dinner. I was very nervous to speak Norwegian in front of others and I had forgotten my reading glasses so I stumbled over some of it. And, yes, I broke down in tears a couple of times because I was remembering Thanksgivings gone by with my family in the States. It was harder to get through than I thought.
Before you ask: No, I will not be publishing my speech. I was very personal for me and would like to hold that moment close. Lets just say there were quite a few wet eyes in the room.
Then we went around the room saying what we were thankful for which I know was awkward for some of the guests but I was very impressed that almost everyone participated.
Okay, time to dig in! (I did forget to sing grace...We'll sing next year!)
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| The spread! |
We had a gorgeous spread! Candied yams! Corn bread! Green been casserole! Two types of Jell-O salad! Mashed potatoes! Creamed spinach! Meatballs! Gravy! Two kinds of stuffing! "Cranberry" sauce! And, of course, turkey!!
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| I was so proud of the Norwegians trying the stuffing with giblets! |
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| It was so cozy and warm and full of smiles! |
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| People mingling and meeting new friends! |
We actually had quite an international Thanksgiving because we had two Americans, one Australian and one Scotsman! Some of our neighbors came so they met some of our friends and family they had never met before. It was so nice seeing everyone socialize and smiling!
This family and this community have welcomed me with such open and warm arms since the day I moved here. I knew that I was moving to a great place but I never anticipated just how incredible the people really are here. I know that Norwegians are known for being introverted and distant but that hasn't been my experience. The Norwegians in my life are warm, inviting, caring, open and always welcoming with a smile. My only complaint - were I forced to give one - would be that they can eat a ton of food and cake and still be so skinny! What's up with that!?
Kidding aside, I couldn't have found a better place for me on earth. Yes, I might feel isolated from time to time in a small farmhouse up on a mountain but I know that if I walk to the end of my driveway and stand there for a little while someone will drive by and smile and wave at me. (For the record, I don't really do that but I know it could happen!)
Even if I have a horrible time with remembering Norwegian names I remember their smiles. Even if I don't always understand what they are saying to me I know that they consider me as part of their community now. This place feels more like home to me than any place I have lived since I left my parents' home as a teenager - and I moved A LOT since their house! To me, I feel lucky to be able to call two so very different yet so very warm places "home."
Now, just like a good ol' fashioned Thanksgiving dinner I will end this blog post with good ol' fashioned pumpkin pie! I was very proud of the pies I made and, again, I will post the recipe and more details about that later. Trust me, you will want the recipe for the pie and the crust! We also had pecan pie, lefse, a delicious dessert made by my mother-in-law, pumpkin cake, and spice cake!
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| PUMPKIN! And a little bit of lefse ;) |
While I wish I would have been able to socialize with more people over the evening and even wish it had lasted longer I was so full of warm fuzzies at the end of the day. I am, truly, surrounded by an incredible family, an amazing community and awesome friends.
This American has a lot to be thankful for this year.
