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Thanksgiving is the only holiday I really celebrate. It has everything I look for in a holiday: It’s secular, it promises good food, and it’s an annual opportunity to take a break from my usual cynicism and focus on what I’m thankful for.
I normally spend Thanksgiving at my parents’ house in Massachusetts, but because coronavirus cases are soaring in my city and I don’t want to get on a plane, my boyfriend and I are planning to stay in our apartment and prepare a feast for two. He’ll cook a turkey, and I’ll put together the stuffing and sides. We’ll buy some pies and crack open a bottle of wine, thankful to have survived the Trump era and, thus far, the pandemic.
Some people are getting creative with their Thanksgiving plans, setting up heated outdoor dining areas in their backyards or converting their garages into well-ventilated gathering places—neither of which is feasible for apartment-dwellers like me. People who aren’t willing to travel may have Friendsgiving with others who live close by. People who are intent on seeing their family after a long, hard year of isolation might get tested before they go and isolate themselves at both their place of origin and their destination. Others might break from the Thanksgiving tradition entirely and go for a hike, or order Chinese food, or both.
How important is Thanksgiving to you, and how are you planning on celebrating safely? Are you celebrating Thanksgiving at all? Do you normally? Does the colonization of Native American land factor into your understanding of the holiday? Do you like turkey? Are you vegetarian? Will you watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade? Are they even having that this year? Let me know at aweinberg@motherjones.com. I’ll be very thankful for your feedback, and might highlight some interesting responses in another post!
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