The Thanks in Thanksgiving

Americans were just starting their morning stirrings on Thanksgiving Day when the doors of Stockholm’s City Mission (Stadsmission) opened to welcome the homeless and hungry to an American fare of turkey, sweet potatoes, dressing and homemade pies. This Thanksgiving feast, the third since 2008, sponsored by the American Club of Sweden,  reflects the mission of the American Club to “promote the American spirit of hospitality and cooperation in Sweden.” Together with members from the American Women’s Club of Sweden, about a dozen people cheerfully worked in the kitchen peeling sweet potatoes, making stuffing, washing dishes as well as slicing and dicing whenever slicing and dicing was required.  It felt good.

Caren and Helen

The American Club provided funds for the food with additional donations from the Hilton Hotel. The Hilton, host to the American Club’s monthly Third Thursday evening social gathering, has a special relationship with the Club. We were glad to have three representatives come with cheesecakes and share the meal with us.

Sharing this treasured national tradition with strangers was significant, given that not a single Swedish soul at the dinner table had a clue what Thanksgiving was all about.

The story of Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620 was recounted in Swedish. The tale of surviving a harsh winter and the show of gratitude to helpful Native American Indians was proclaimed at the first Thanksgiving dinner. Diners at Stadsmission put down their forks and listened respectfully to the story, some indicated their appreciation of the explanation of the meal, then all returned to the food and conversations at their tables. Before leaving, many also expressed their appreciation with "mycket bra!" (very good!).

Ulrika and Germaine

Of course, it is not important for the homeless and the hungry at the Thanksgiving table to understand the motivation of their benefactors.  What does seem important is that a long standing American tradition brought all of us together for a memorable shared experience.  

Through the years Thanksgiving takes on various meanings for each American. It begins as children with treks to the homes of relatives, then as an adult and/or parent taking on the responsibility to provide both home and meal.  Given years to absorb the tempo of the holiday, it just becomes part of the natural turn of events. Here in Sweden we are removed from that seamless flow of family gatherings and the smell of turkey and savory dressing roasting in the oven. We felt blessed to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday spirit with our friends.

We have also observed that a society without Thanksgiving has no speed bump on its headlong rush to Christmas. The gearing up for Christmas commercialization appears here to run in parallel with the early arrival of darkness in mid-November. Now with Thanksgiving behind us, we too are emotionally engaged in the Christmas spirit, enjoying the decorations and many Advent lights and candles everywhere, bustling about in common purpose with the Swedes.  God Jul! (Merry Christmas!)

Adventljusstake