Thanksgiving

What's it like to celebrate a holiday that commemorates American Protestants in a Spanish Catholic country? Everyone takes time off work, cooks turkey, drinks alcohol, and enjoys the holiday. And that's about it. We had a pot-luck Thanksgiving dinner at church, enjoying and trying the various Latino sides that traditionally go with holiday meals. No alcohol at church, in case you were wondering.

The whole dinner from arrival at church to departure took about 2 hours. We came prepared to spend a number of hours at church (after all, this is a holiday in a country where people love to hang out, right?) We didn't experience the depth, the feasting, the gratefulness, the welcoming of the season of Advent that this holiday embodies at home. We didn't use tablecloths, there were no decorations, and everything was served on paper and plastic. We just prayed, went through the line, ate and talked, and got up when we were done. There was a brief mention (in Spanish) of the history/meaning of Thanksgiving via a handout. But it's just a bit unusual here: a few hundred years ago, some English speaking guys landed in the US, and established a free, Protestant country. And they were thankful they survived the winter. In Puerto Rico, we were conquered by the US about 100 years ago, we aren't sure how much we even like them, we spoke Spanish and we still speak it, we are Catholic and it's hurricane season that we worry about surviving. Not surprisingly, the meaning of the holiday is mostly lost.

So, it's a bit of a let-down, but we're enjoying the time together; I'm going to cook a turkey sometime soon and we'll have a good feast, perhaps on the Lord's Day. We're thankful for each other, for modern, Western health care, for life and strength, and most of all for the Lord Jesus, who redeemed us from the curse of the law and set us free in Christ. And we're thankful for our heavenly citizenship, which binds us to our brothers and sisters in Christ wherever we reside.