Believe it or not, I have been asked this question three times by Americans. Latest incident took place yesterday at my work, when a co-worker asked me the same question. Even though I could have a lot of fun with a question like this, I just resorted to a smile and simply said, “I believe it is only an American Holiday.” Needless to say she was a little embarrassed, then she said: “Oh I meant, do Pakistanis living in US celebrate Thanksgiving” I jokingly responded with, “We celebrate anything that involves food.”
Over the years I have attended few Thanksgiving dinners, some with my American friends, and others with Pakistanis.
Here is my question:
Do you (Pakistanis/Indian living in US) hold Thanksgiving dinners?
If yes, How do you make the turkey? The traditional way, or do you improvise and make a “Turkey Tikka Boti” or “Turkey Qorma” etc.
Or
Do you just use these days as a mini vacation and visit places/friends?
we celebrate thanksgiving, just like we celebrate other US holidays. sometimes it had a little bit of flair to it. we do have the turkey dinner but we may make somethng else for ppl who just need desi stuff
Being a brit i used to get hell from my pals at uni here who were always saying..“we celebrate 4th of july” do brits observe it as a sad day cuz they were booted out" and my response became “only one country celebrated 4th of july more than you guys, thats us brits, cuz we are thankful that fate made sure we got rid of you guys”
hehehe lame response to a lame statement.
We celebrate thanksgiving with great zeal. See family and friends. Have turkey and mashed potatoes. Have Indian food as well and not to forget Filipino food that another side of the family brings.
We do. It is actually one of my most favorite Holidays. The idea behind sharing food and breaking bread with family/friends is awesome, and to offer thanks on top of that is just too good. The only part of the food that I don’t like is that it is always the same. Same roast bird, same yams, same cranberry sauce, same every bloody thing. I have had numerous honors to deliver the exegesis at the beginning of the dinner, having hosted many of them. Here’s what I say: dig in.
We celebrate thanksgiving traditional way with turkey, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes etc. I think it is just another occasion to be thankful to God.
Having two bhabhis from different cultures, we have always celebrated Thanksgiving.
Like Infoman, if the dinner is held at the eldest brother’s place, there is a Philippino flair to the dinner in addition to the Roast Turkey and mashed potatoes and if at the other house with my other bhabhi then there is a Polish touch.
We believe in giving thanks on any opportunity possible…and yes, the greatest motivating factor is a bahaana for a dawat…
Turkey is such a nasty bird to eat. Doesnt tenderize, regardless of how much you cook it. Its too dry.
However, I do appreciate the family get together concept of thanksgiving....though I dislike the fact that family get togethers in america are restricted only to thanksgiving.
Muzna....do they celebrate thanksgiving in Canada as well? i thought it was an american thing.
One big cultural difference is that we as a culture have stronger family ties in general and have more family events, gatherings and meals in general, so its not quite the same for us.
well we have no thanksgiving in pakistan.
and after reading posts here, honestly i didnt know that some ppl DO celebrate it!
well, i dont think so we should really "celebrate" it. family gathering is okay! but celebrating something thats not in our culture or religion is different...
the point also is that ppl basically gather and thank God for his blessings upon us. aur i think woh to har wakt karna chahiye!! why only one day to thank!
some people are just to insecure about who they are and hence are eager to just drop what they are accostomed to and try to be otherwise.
I doubt if people who celebrate Thanksgiving expect the recent immigrants to fall in with their traditions.. IMmigrants have a history of bringing their culture and making it the real 'melting pot'..
Somehow the Anglo-Saxon group offers resistance to such a 'melting'. They never took up the culture of the INdians, but just removed them from the scene. Now after millions of Asians, South Asians, Middle Easterners, East Europeans and South Americans of all religious persuasion are in USA, the major cultural events still remain more 'Anglo-Saxon' or Christian .. even Pagan for that matter!
The only other group that has had a noticeable impact is probably the Spanish American community.. that too in the southern states only.
[This message has been edited by PakistaniAbroad (edited November 20, 2001).]
I hope Pakistanis in Pakistan don't celebrate thanksgiving - the reason for the original celebration was to give thanks because the american lands were free from the earlier inhabitants - or some similar completely politically incorrect reason
AKIF
"....though I dislike the fact that family get togethers in america are restricted only to thanksgiving."
MR. FRAUDIA
"One big cultural difference is that we as a culture have stronger family ties in general and have more family events, gatherings and meals in general, so its not quite the same for us."
SHADA
I hope Pakistanis in Pakistan don't celebrate thanksgiving - the reason for the original celebration was to give thanks because the american lands were free from the earlier inhabitants - or some similar completely politically incorrect reason.
You must be asking the wrong families! At my house Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, birthdays, 4th of July were all gatherings of family and friends for fellowship, food and praise.
As a matter of fact, my wife's family of OVER 50 or so gathers a week before Christmas for a family celebration. Because of the distance that often seperates relatives, the logistics - work schedules, transporting babies, weather, etc. make this a practical solution.
My wife and myself will drive about 800 miles to spend the the actual day with my side of the family. But, we often go to great lenghts to ensure that we can celebrate with family.
The original Thanksgiving was to celebrate a safe crossing of the then uncharted Atlantic, and, for a new life offering freedom to worship God in the manner of their chosing. The Puritans were persecuted in England.
The land still isn't "free" of it's original inhabitants. The American Indians are still a vital part of the fabric of our society.
In that case your family is an exception. Plus I am making a cultural comparison. Pakistani families in general try ti get together more often and visit each other more.
As far as my basis of observation. That is the case with almost all my friends, current colleagues to fraternity bros. I have noticed that Italian Americans have closer family ties as well compared to the general population.