Thanksgiving in the USA

Thanksgiving in the U.S. is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. It commemorates the first successful harvest of the early European settlers in Massachusetts and was an opportunity for them to give thanks for good weather, cooperation with local Native Americans, and enough food to survive the oncoming winter.

Schools and businesses are closed for the day. Because the holiday is on Thursday, it gives most Americans a four-day weekend, so many people use this opportunity to travel back to their hometowns to celebrate with relatives. Nationally, it is the busiest travel week for airlines. College students go home to be with family. Homeless shelters serve turkey and other traditional food. In addition to eating and visiting, Americans watch morning parades and afternoon football games on TV.

The most traditional meat served that day is turkey (although some eat ham). Americans typically eat too much that day, and tables are full to overflowing with special casseroles, potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce, gravy, rolls or corn bread. The most common dessert is pumpkin pie, but apple and mincemeat pies are also common. 

The day after Thanksgiving marks the first day of the business year that retailers operate in the black, that is, begin to see profits. For this reason, merchants have come to call this day Black Friday. It is the busiest shopping day of the year, as early birds line up in pre-dawn hours to take advantage of limited-time sales. Black Friday is the first official shopping day for those getting ready for Christmastime giving.

U.S. Fourth of July Parade

Independence Day (aka the Fourth of July) is celebrated across the country in many ways. In my town of Allendale, MI (pop. 20,000+), there is a traditional parade. To summarize the experience: families lined the sidewalks with lawn chairs and picnic blankets. They wore red-white-blue clothing and even fancy hats, glasses, and buttons. 

On the parade route, there were musicians, service vehicles, politicians, military veterans, and lots of tractors. This may be because tractors are good at pulling floats. In the case of Allendale, it's because of agriculture. Ottawa County is Michigan's second biggest agricultural producer, so the folks around these parts have tractors: new ones, old ones, and antique ones.

Here are the morning's photos in a slideshow, along with some brief commentary.  I hope this gives a glimpse of small-town American culture for my international readers.

The entrance to Grand Valley State University, which hosts the annual Allendale Independence Day parade.

With lights flashing, this sheriff's vehicle leads the parade.

The high school marching band was one of several music groups to entertain the parade watchers.

This mom and daughter were glad to share their Independence Day spirit on camera. The headgear with a pair of spring-mounted decorations are called deeply-bobbers.

Tractors, old and new, drove the 45-minute-long parade route.

Some political candidates drove trucks. The elephant is a symbol for the Republican Party.

The Lions Club has chapters around the world. Among other efforts, they promote eye health.

Red, white, & blue spectator enjoys a snack.

Antique cars are also popular in American parades.

The Grand Marshall of the day's parade.

A really big cow! Oh, yes, and a tractor! Note volunteers handing out flyers.

The prominent colors of the day: red, white, and blue!

The area fire departments joined the parade. In addition, there were law enforcement vehicles and emergency medical services (EMS) vehicles.

Many floats had volunteers with buckets of candy to throw to the spectators.

The local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) entered this vehicle in the parade. Wheelchair user Jim Troost (see below) preceded this truck telling spectators that this post was led by their first-ever female president (standing, in white).

Jim Troost took this selfie to show his Donald Trump friends that he was able to have a conversation with a Democrat. Troost is a member of the Grandville, MI, Sons of the American Legion (SAL). His father was a military veteran.

Military veterans both marched and rode in vehicles, receiving applause for their service from spectators.

The local library's reading bus was a colorful addition to the day's event.

Large or small, all parade entrants proudly featured the national colors.

Horses!

The Girl Scouts had a float. The local Cub Scouts were entered as well.

Spectators stood, sat on blankets, relaxed in lawn chairs, or slept in strollers along the parade route.

Every parade needs at least one clown!

Political candidates sat on floats, marched on foot, waved from trucks, or rode in cars--in this case, an old Buick convertible.

My friend, Ray Nadda, owns a pet-grooming salon as his day job. He is entered in the August Republican primary election for local office.

A local pizza company enters a walking slice of pizza in the parade.

More antique tractors. In mid-July, the area hosts a weekend-long festival to showcase antique farm equipment. Ottawa County is the second-largest agricultural county in Michigan.

Military veterans in an antique Corvette.

Stuff we all get is called SWAG. My free swag from the morning's event included a frisbee (representing a local political candidate), candy, and an American flag. Other items given away at the parade included balloons, stickers, political pamphlets, and bananas.

December cultural events

In the U.S., there are two widely recognized holidays in December: Advent/Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Christmas Day is a national holiday on which banks and governmental offices (most notably post offices) are closed. New Year’s is observed in personal lives to varying degrees. Most businesses are closed on both days.

Advent: This Christian “holiday” is actually a four-week period leading up to Christmas. This season celebrates the anticipation of the birth of Jesus, announced in the Jewish Bible (called the Old Testament by Christians). The decorating color is purple, and each Sunday of Advent is celebrated by lighting a special candle and lessons based on four themes: hope, peace, love, and joy.

Christmas Eve: Christian families often go to church on Christmas Eve. Early-evening services may include a Christmas “pageant” (or play) where children wear Middle Eastern clothing of 2000 years ago and act out the Christmas story of Jesus’ parents arriving in Bethlehem, finding only accommodation in a barn, and having their son born there. The main characters in the play are Mary and Joseph (the parents), area shepherds, three visiting kings (called Wise Men), and angels. Sometimes a live baby is used, but more often (and more safely) a wrapped-up doll is used.

A late-evening service is sometimes held at church where the Christmas story is told, Christmas carols (hymns) are sung, and candles are lit and held by each participant. Back at home, some families exchange gifts with each other on Christmas Eve. This is the evening when Santa Claus visits houses with small children and leaves them gifts.  A favorite holiday tradition is reading aloud of a classic poem, “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement Moore.  When my daughters were growing up, we used to read aloud from the 1971 story, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.”

Christmas Day: Some American families wait until Christmas morning to exchange gifts. Small children, usually eager with anticipation, wake up early and pester their parents into checking under the Christmas tree in the family room for evidence of Santa’s visit. Many families travel across town or across the country to visit relatives on Christmas Day. Huge feasts are cooked and enjoyed. Interestingly, this is also a day when many Americans go out to movie theaters. Many businesses are closed for the entire week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. School and universities often have a 2- or 3-week holiday at this time.

New Year’s Eve: People in the U.S. often gather with friends to celebrate the coming of the new year. Parties may include food, drinking alcohol, and music. Public parties may have live bands and dancing. In New York City, hundreds of thousands gather in Times Square to watch a large, illuminated globe lowered from on high. Attendees count down from ten to one. Millions more watch the countdown on their televisions at home. After the countdown, people shout “Happy New Year,” hug, kiss, and express optimism over the incoming year.

New Year’s Day is when Americans visit friends and family.  College sports fans can feast their eyes from morning to late night, watching parades and football games on TV.

Other events this month: the end of the fall semester at most universities; office parties; decorating homes and businesses for Christmas; shopping for Christmas presents; writing and mailing Christmas cards

Do you have questions about Christmas holiday customs and etiquette?  Write us so we can help you understand what your co-workers and neighbors are doing.

Benefits of Becoming a U.S. Citizen

I had the pleasure of visiting the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit last week.  The Institute has been a fixture in downtown Detroit for 95 years.  While there, I took time for a cup of tea in their international café and observed people coming and going over the lunch hour: African Americans, Euro-Americans, Arabs, South Asians, Europeans, Southeast Asians, and others—truly representative of their "international" moniker!

During the visit, I was lucky to chat with Executive Director Wojciech Zolnowski, who told me about all the terrific services offered at the IIMD.  In addition to ESL classes, and cultural events, they offer immigration counseling services.  In fact, they were instrumental in getting citizenship for a senior citizen from Poland, whose story we covered earlier this year. 

As American citizens, my family and I take for granted so many benefits that come with our citizenship.  According to the Institute, they are numerous:

1.     Voting in federal elections

2.     Running for federal office

3.     Access to public benefits

4.     Retention of retirement income

5.     Petitioning for family members

6.     Unlimited travel with U.S. passport

7.     Citizenship for resident children under 18

8.     Protection from deportation

9.     Unlimited re-entry into the U.S.

10. Eligibility for government jobs

Of course, with these benefits comes responsibility to contribute to one’s local community and the nation.  From past conversations with immigrants to this country, I know this is something they take very seriously, something which continues to make the U.S. a great place to live and belong!

Naturalization ceremony, Kennedy Space Center