Thanksgiving 2008 was by far one of the most reflective Thanksgiving's I've had in years. Being in Italy really makes one realize how important family and friends are. It is funny how the distance really can make people closer. However this Thanksgiving also gave me the opportunity to think about why our country celebrates Thanksgiving and what all the symbolism really stands for. This year we were invited by some new friends in Italy to bring our family traditions together and celebrate the holiday. They also invited some Africans that Jon works with over to dinner. These guys work on a US base so they end up having days off during the US holidays. They are working in Italy without their families and aren't able to work duri
ng our holidays so we thought sharing our holiday with them would give them something to do. Ironically our efforts to think of them ended up helping us explain Thanksgiving to our children and of course helped us to reflect ourselves. It was a wonderful way to share. John and JP asked questions that we often overlook such as why a turkey, what are you celebrating, etc. It was a wonderful day.
We did not just share historical background and family traditions, we also watched the Macy's Day Parade and American football. Which you must know with the time change that the Macy's Day Parade was on in the afternoon so no need to get up early and watch it. I think JP and John got the full extent of the American holiday; however I did not know the background on the large balloons in the parade. I might have to do a little research before next Thanksgiving. I don't know if they will be in Italy next year but if they are they will definitely be on the invite list again. As you can tell from this pictures Charles and JP were big buds.
ng our holidays so we thought sharing our holiday with them would give them something to do. Ironically our efforts to think of them ended up helping us explain Thanksgiving to our children and of course helped us to reflect ourselves. It was a wonderful way to share. John and JP asked questions that we often overlook such as why a turkey, what are you celebrating, etc. It was a wonderful day.We did not just share historical background and family traditions, we also watched the Macy's Day Parade and American football. Which you must know with the time change that the Macy's Day Parade was on in the afternoon so no need to get up early and watch it. I think JP and John got the full extent of the American holiday; however I did not know the background on the large balloons in the parade. I might have to do a little research before next Thanksgiving. I don't know if they will be in Italy next year but if they are they will definitely be on the invite list again. As you can tell from this pictures Charles and JP were big buds.
