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I have learned through the years to celebrate Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving Day even though it's not a holiday here in Sweden. 
It is easily the one day of the year when I miss being in the US more than any other. I think it's because the entire nation aligns itself around one theme...giving thanks. And unlike other holidays that are celebrated here in Sweden, like Christmas and Easter, Thanksgiving is totally missing. So for instance, tonight, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, I ran to the store and it was surprisingly empty. No frenzy in the produce aisle, no looking for the perfect dinner roll, no one frantic over wondering how much cranberry sauce to get! In fact, cranberry, stuffing, dinner rolls, pie crusts, canned pumpkin...not available. Fortunately, I've had enough folks stopping by Stockholm from the USA lately that I've been able to assemble the goods necessary for making stuffing and pumpkin pie. I have to make my crust from scratch, but hopefully that'll turn out just fine! I did panic a little tonight when I could not find sweet potatoes in the store. Luckily, after perusing the produce section a couple of times I located them tucked away on an unassuming shelf. Again, I was the only one buying them. By the way, they were $1.60 a pound...is that a good price? And in case you are wondering, I was able to find a 9.9 pound turkey, the biggest the store had. How 'bout you? How big was your turkey? I'm very thankful for my American friends here in Stockholm who rally around this holiday as I do and we will love every minute of being together eating our small little bird tomorrow evening!
It is easily the one day of the year when I miss being in the US more than any other. I think it's because the entire nation aligns itself around one theme...giving thanks. And unlike other holidays that are celebrated here in Sweden, like Christmas and Easter, Thanksgiving is totally missing. So for instance, tonight, the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, I ran to the store and it was surprisingly empty. No frenzy in the produce aisle, no looking for the perfect dinner roll, no one frantic over wondering how much cranberry sauce to get! In fact, cranberry, stuffing, dinner rolls, pie crusts, canned pumpkin...not available. Fortunately, I've had enough folks stopping by Stockholm from the USA lately that I've been able to assemble the goods necessary for making stuffing and pumpkin pie. I have to make my crust from scratch, but hopefully that'll turn out just fine! I did panic a little tonight when I could not find sweet potatoes in the store. Luckily, after perusing the produce section a couple of times I located them tucked away on an unassuming shelf. Again, I was the only one buying them. By the way, they were $1.60 a pound...is that a good price? And in case you are wondering, I was able to find a 9.9 pound turkey, the biggest the store had. How 'bout you? How big was your turkey? I'm very thankful for my American friends here in Stockholm who rally around this holiday as I do and we will love every minute of being together eating our small little bird tomorrow evening!
I do miss the US, I miss our families, I miss all the buzz and excitement around this great week-end. I miss this lovely 4 day weekend at the end of November. But I am taking the day off and will enjoy the adventures in my kitchen tomorrow and toast our friends who will join us around our table. And when the lovely smell of roast turkey begins to take over our stairwell, perhaps my Swedish neighbors will wish they were just a little bit American on this 4th Thursday of November. Happy Thanksgiving readers. I hope you enjoy the day, however you are celebrating.
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