Every year when its November, most think of family gatherings, turkeys and Thanksgiving. We all have seen television ads of a traditional Thanksgiving: a family table laden with food and a multi-generational family gathered around eating. For me, even though I do think of the traditional family Thanksgiving, I also think of it is as a time for friends. I think it's partly because I was taught in grade school that the Pilgrims and Indians had become the best of friends and then had a big party celebrating their newly found friendship that we now call Thanksgiving. I taught a slightly more realistic version of the first Thanksgiving in my years of teaching Kindergarten, with descriptions of the hardships and hunger the Pilgrims faced, and how the Wampanoag assisted them. I also read books to my students about Thanksgiving celebrations. Many of the books had characters that were animals having friends over for dinner. My favorite is "A Turkey for Thanksgiving" by Eve Bunting. The kids get caught up in the story that Mr. Turkey thinks he has been invited to dinner because he IS dinner. I won't spoil the surprise ending but I hope you see why I think of friends and Thanksgiving.
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the word "Friendsgiving" came into use in 2007. It was a very popular theme of many TV shows then and now, where the characters celebrated Thanksgiving with friends. I watched many of these shows and that makes me associate friends with November even more. I am pretty sure I have heard my son, Alex, use the word to describe the type of Thanksgiving he either attended or hosted after he moved to Minnesota for college. I was glad to know that he had a fun day with his new friends that he still spends time with now.
As the "turkey day" gets closer, I hope planning is not getting too stressful. I hope that you have a wonderful day surrounded by family and friends whether you are having a traditional family Thanksgiving, a Friendsgiving or a combination of the two.
--Tina
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