El Día de Acción de Gracias (Thanksgiving)

First of all, happy Thanksgiving (weekend) to everyone! Holidays always make me miss home, but I was able to celebrate here with my "family". Last night a friend of mine invited me (and about 20 other people) over for a Thanksgiving dinner. It was incredible! (Thanks Vanessa, you rock!) We had quite a feast: turkey, potatoes and gravy, corn, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, asparagus, Spanish tortilla, and yes, Mom, hot pineapple salad (which was a huge hit, as always)! For dessert: apple, pumpkin, and pecan pie (turned out better this year...thanks for the sending me the secret ingredient, Michael), chocolate cake, ice cream, more cake...there was no shortage of food. We were a diverse bunch (Spain, Cuba, Romania, different states) and everyone had a great time. The only thing we didn't have was American football, but as far as I'm concerned, no loss!

So, even though it's a mouthful (no pun intended), I like the word for Thanksgiving in Spanish. Literally it translates "The Day of Action of Thanks". I agree that Thanksgiving Day should include the action of giving thanks...aside from the action of making and eating boatloads of food, aside from the action of spending time with family, aside from the action of making the next day's shopping list. As I explained this day to my seven year old student he asked who we give thanks to. I said that I give thanks to God, and he said that he and his family weren't believers (except one uncle). When he said that, I started to think about how strange it would be not to believe in God and only have ourselves to thank for the many blessings in our lives. I just can't imagine it. So, this Thanksgiving I'm especially thankful for my parents and grandparents who taught me about God. And I'm thankful to God for giving them to me! Enjoy the rest of your weekend and if you haven't, tell someone you are thankful for them.