Corey's post on the bemusement of the French regarding Thanksgiving reminded me of the time I tried to explain the holiday to a Spanish friend in Rome. I too had language difficulty--I actually spoke Spanish better than Italian at that point but since we were in Italian class together, we tried to stick to that tongue.
I said that Thankgiving was a day of giving thanks--for food, for family, friends, etc. He said, "So it's a religious holiday then."
"No, not at all," I said. "It's a national holiday--and you know in the States we try to keep church and state separate."
"But who are you giving thanks to?" he asked pointedly.
"Well . . . " I was a little taken aback by this one. Not being particularly religious myself, I falteringly tried to explain that it was a time to slow down and be grateful.
"You're giving thanks to God," he said authoritatively, "so it's a religious holiday."
I gave up and let Enrique think he understood American holidays better than me. Then later I went to a friend's apartment on the Via Panisperna, my favorite street, who was running quite late with the meal because when she went to pick up the turkey, she showed up five minutes after the butcher shop closed for lunch. (In Italy, many stores close for a couple hours starting around 2:30 or so. A nice tradition, but also very frustrating when you need something asap.) Other guests were the hostess' fruttivendolo and his wife, and an American dentist with his two sullen Italo-American teenagers, and a very cute guy named Filippo who seemed interested in talking to me and who I will forever regret not encouraging more.
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, wherever you are.
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