Today is Thanksgiving Day in America, a time-honored tradition that is said to be more special to Americans than Christmas (as not all Americans are Christians), with families getting together the way Filipinos do on Christmas Eve. It’s the busiest day for airports around the country and a bad day for turkeys.
According to historical accounts, Thanksgiving traces its origins to 1620, when a boat filled with more than one hundred people sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in the New World. They experienced bad times till a bountiful harvest came the next year. The colonists had much to be thankful for, so a feast was planned. They invited the local Indian chief and 90 Indians. The Indians brought deer to roast with the turkeys and other wild game offered by the colonists. The colonists had learned how to cook cranberries and different kinds of corn and squash dishes from the Indians. To this first Thanksgiving, the Indians had even brought popcorn!
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I spent Thanksgiving in my parents’ house in Anaheim, California two years ago and it reminded me of a Noche Buena feast. The Christmas trimmings were up, and my sister Geraldine from Philadelphia, my Uncle Edward from New York, and my cousin Kay (then from Mexico) all flew in for Thanksgiving. My Uncle Jun and cousin Gillian from LA also joined us and though we had no maids to help us cook up a feast and clear the dishes after the party was over, we all had fun. Actually, we had a Filipinized Thanksgiving feast, with chicharon bulaklak as appetizers and paella to go with the turkey.
The mere presence of family at any gathering, even at your breakfast table, is already a cause for Thanksgiving. Family members are like moorings for your tent, the cartoon movie you need when you’re sad, the chamomile infusion you seek when you need to be calmed and the espresso you crave for when you need a lift.
And your parents’ home, even when you’ve become a parent yourself, is both a refuge and an appetite stimulant. Even yards away from my mother Sonia’s front door, I could already smell its welcoming country garden scent — from a combination of scented candles, potpourri and the pastries she always has on the dining table. Thanksgiving or not, my parents often have pumpkin pie, which reminds my dad Frank of his late mom Mary Loudon Mayor. In my mother’s house I feel that I can shed worries and responsibilities like a soiled jacket, and let her take charge. My only role, which I volunteer for, is to wash the dishes. The only decision I make is the channel I want to watch — my Dad’s cable network has over a hundred choices. I can be a couch potato all day and not feel guilty.
All other decisions my parents make — what time I should wake up (because they are all too familiar with how long it takes me to get ready), what time we will go to the mall, the grocery list, what time is dinner. My dad even packs my balikbayan box when it is time for me to go back to the Philippines, and even in his mid-seventies, he single-handedly lifts it into the trunk of his car.
The weather is nippy even in California at this time, and the day after Thanksgiving is one of the biggest sale days in the US. I imagine that with the economic slowdown in the US, it will be a sale of sales tomorrow to boost consumer spending.
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It might not be the best of times in the Philippines, but it isn’t the worst of times, either. Let me count the ways...
1. No major natural disaster, like a tsunami, an earthquake or a volcanic eruption has visited the Philippines this year. I remember the terror I felt in the minutes Manila swayed during the 1990 earthquake. Or the panic from the realization that I was not in control of my surroundings during the Pinatubo eruption in 1991, when ash blanketed the metropolis like it never had before. These misfortunes are beyond our control, but the misfortunes we suffer now are mostly avoidable.
2. No major epidemic like SARS has spread in the region. Economic losses we can recover from, but the loss of human lives is harder to bear.
3. For most of us who enjoy good health, it is like hitting the lotto jackpot. We are simply unaware of the value of our winnings because good health — and its monetary value — is not as tangible as a brand new Volvo. That is, until we start paying for its loss.
4. Those of us who are busy with work and are sometimes overwhelmed by it should realize that work is a blessing in times like this when the world’s superpowers are in recession.
5. Gasoline prices are down, but traffic is still not as bad as it used to be.
6. Though we mourn the deaths of journalists who perished in the line of duty, we can say that virtually all government anomalies are now exposed by media without fear of imprisonment.
7. That good household help and drivers are not hard to find in the Philippines, and that the majority of Filipinos are treating their help fairly and kindly.
8. There is no shortage of any major food staple right now. Bread prices have, in fact, gone down.
9. There is no shortage of love from family and friends. At the recent birthday party of assistant editor Büm Tenorio at the home of floral architect Rachy Cuna, family and friends took turns telling Büm how his kindness, loyalty and sense of humor have made a difference in their lives. Büm was so touched he said he went to sleep that night with a smile on his face. If you see him today, you will see that he’s still wearing that infectious smile.
10. That those of you who are reading this have the gift of sight, a gift millions don’t.
I wish all of you, American citizen or not, a Happy Thanksgiving!
(You may e-mail me at joanneraeramirez@yahoo.com)