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Should we celebrate Thanksgiving in Ireland

incentsitive

Given Black Friday has been taken on in Ireland in a similar way to Love Day in The Simpsons, should we celebrate Thanksgiving too?

It could be a day to give thanks for the fruits of the earth, and our wonderful indigenous farming community who contribute so much to our economy and to ensure our shelves are stocked with meat, fruit and veg produced with a level of care to the end consumer that the yanks can but dream of as they fatten their cattle and poultry with hormones, antibiotocs, etc........

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DEFTLEFTHAND

I remember UL campus used to have TG celebrations back in my time there.

I suppose it was for the yank students. Also a decent promotional tool for the bar. Students will celebrate anything if it means going on a bender.

xi5yvm0owc1s2b

Deleted User wrote: »

We have imported enough American customs.

Including, incidentally, St. Patrick's Day, the first recorded celebration of which took place in Boston in 1737. The first St. Patrick's Day parade happened in New York in 1766. Ireland didn't have widespread St. Patrick's Day celebrations until the mid-20th century, when the custom was imported from the US.

The way the Irish celebrate holidays such as St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, Easter, and Christmas today depend hugely on imported traditions, notably from the UK and US. Everything from the modern image of Santa Claus to "Jingle Bells" are of American origin.

Harry Palmr

Given how reliant this place is on American inward investment and watches American TV to beat the band (the band is American as well) and speaks American English then why not?

Badly Drunk Boy

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Given how reliant this place is on American inward investment and watches American TV to beat the band (the band is American as well) and speaks American English then why not?

I don't speak American English. Do you? And just because we might depend on American investment, it doesn't mean that we have to become American.

But here's a little something...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLSveRGmpIE

witchgirl26

Why would we? That would be like celebrating the 4th July as Independence Day. It's not from our culture or our country so why have it widely celebrated. Sure if any Americans here want to celebrate it then they can go for their lives - it's their heritage afterall but I won't be joining in. I'll wish happy Thanksgiving to my family in America and leave it at that.

As for Black Friday - it was imported here due to the fact that retailers saw an opportunity to make some more money in the lead up to Christmas. It has little to do with Thanksgiving apart from the timing.

Anya Round Theater wrote: »

The way the Irish celebrate holidays such as St. Patrick's Day, Halloween, Easter, and Christmas today depend hugely on imported traditions, notably from the UK and US. Everything from the modern image of Santa Claus to "Jingle Bells" are of American origin.

Actually an awful lot of the Halloween traditions are actually not American origin. Carving pumpkins originally started here in Ireland when common root vegetables like turnips were carved. The Irish brought this to America where pumpkins were more common and that changed it slightly but the practice originated here. The same with the dressing up aspect - it's very Celtic in nature and was originally brought to America by Europeans going there.

topper75

vicwatson wrote: »

****ing hell.

Hello. Operator? Yes can you put through to the John Birch Society please.
I have somebody I need to report.

w/s/p/c/

Bring back Arthur's Day!!!

Snickers Man

Only if invited by Americans to their own celebration of Thanksgiving, wherever that may be.

It's not meant to be for anyone else.

starlit

What would we really be celebrating? Breaking away from British rule and becoming a Republic!? We have St Patricks Day and Christmas and New Years are enough to celebrate. Black Friday is big enough here really without the need for Thanksgiving its more appropriate celebration for America - Birth of a new Nation etc

incentsitive

Didn't say it should coincide with US thanksgiving, could be the end of harvest time in Ireland (September) to celebrate the wonderful contribution of our farmers to our society?
Our farming community are great people altogether. Why not give thanks for it?

retro:electro

Surely once a year is enough to be around every member of your family and pretend ye like each other never mind twice in the space of four weeks

witchgirl26

incentsitive wrote: »

Didn't say it should coincide with US thanksgiving, could be the end of harvest time in Ireland (September) to celebrate the wonderful contribution of our farmers to our society?
Our farming community are great people altogether. Why not give thanks for it?

Actually this already happens - my friends church does a harvest festival every year where the church is decorated in autumnal colours and seasonal fruits (which are then given to the local school) and there's a service of thanksgiving for the harvest and the farmers of the country. It's quite lovely and a very old tradition. Don't see the need for a particular holiday though country-wide to celebrate one profession.

Boom_Bap

Black Friday is not Black Friday unless there are people bateing the faces off each other in shakey footage.

The only thing I'd take is the deep fried turkey and pumpkin pie.

iguana

seamus wrote: »

Why would we celebrate Thanksgiving, but not Cinco de Mayo, or Bastille Day, or El Salvador's Independence Day?

Over on the Christmas forum we're all big fans of Swedish Waffle Day in March.:p

Wibbs

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

I don't speak American English. Do you?

Quite the number do B. Certainly with accent intonations that are American. A mate of mine's ten year old daughter and all her mates speak with very strong American/mid Atlantic accents. More subtle versions are to be found all over the place. Though it tends to be more among young women. Like I was saying earlier words like "Mom" are very common, nigh on ubiquitous and though some insist it's from the Irish and maybe in some tiny enclave of the Gaeltacht it is/was, but try find anyone who was Irish saying or writing "mom" before the mid late 90's.

kneemos

Turkey once a year is more than enough.

How about an Octoberfest to celebrate...well,whatever?

blackbox

witchgirl26 wrote: »

Actually this already happens - my friends church does a harvest festival every year where the church is decorated in autumnal colours and seasonal fruits (which are then given to the local school) and there's a service of thanksgiving for the harvest and the farmers of the country. It's quite lovely and a very old tradition. Don't see the need for a particular holiday though country-wide to celebrate one profession.

Most Protestant churches (perhaps not in Dublin) do a Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday. Ancient tradition, not a fixed date and no connection to USA.

Boom_Bap

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Pumpkin Pie mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Elmo

blackbox wrote: »

Most Protestant churches (perhaps not in Dublin) do a Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday. Ancient tradition, not a fixed date and no connection to USA.

shhh .... it's called Halloween .... don't let them hear you now!

Basically sometime at the end of autumn, were having a harvest thanksgiving :rolleyes:

Electric Sheep

*
OP, I understand the sentiment but thanksgiving doesn't really have a place in our culture*

This is true. Paddy is never thankful for anything, just bitch and moan.

Floppybits

Why, did pilgrims land here and strike some deal with the natives that we need to give thanks for?

Badly Drunk Boy

Wibbs wrote: »

Quite the number do B. Certainly with accent intonations that are American. A mate of mine's ten year old daughter and all her mates speak with very strong American/mid Atlantic accents. More subtle versions are to be found all over the place. Though it tends to be more among young women. Like I was saying earlier words like "Mom" are very common, nigh on ubiquitous and though some insist it's from the Irish and maybe in some tiny enclave of the Gaeltacht it is/was, but try find anyone who was Irish saying or writing "mom" before the mid late 90's.

I realise that. I just wanted him to admit it! :pac:

I try to do my bit to fight it. My nieces and nephew (the eldest being ten) constantly use Americanisms so I do my best to antagonise them.

"Let me use your flashlight!".
"I don't have one, just this torch. I can give you a torch but not a flashlight."

Recently, I heard a panellist on The Tonight Show on TV3 Virgin Media 1 talking about 'candy-coating' something. I think even the Americans use the term 'sugar-coating'. (They weren't discussing confectionery.)

Electric Sheep

witchgirl26 wrote: »

Actually this already happens - my friends church does a harvest festival every year where the church is decorated in autumnal colours and seasonal fruits (which are then given to the local school) and there's a service of thanksgiving for the harvest and the farmers of the country. It's quite lovely and a very old tradition. Don't see the need for a particular holiday though country-wide to celebrate one profession.

I believe the original American thanksgiving was an attempt to recreate the English "Harvest Home" celebration. As is Canadian Thanksgiving.

A "Thanksgiving" celebration of harvest has nothing to do with turkey. It's just part of the meal in North America.

jimgoose

blackbox wrote: »

Most Protestant churches (perhaps not in Dublin) do a Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday. Ancient tradition, not a fixed date and no connection to USA.

Most of the rural Church of Ireland outfits do a Harvest Festival sort of thing, yes.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

No, of course not, OP. It commemorates a happening in American history.

Though I do find people who complain excessively about Americanisms utterly tiresome. We have loan words from many languages. There are lots of great American phrases. Why is it so bad to adopts ones you like? Especially as American-English started to develop at a time when the English language was far from standardised, even in Britain. It just developed differently, what with the countries being an ocean apart.

Wibbs

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts wrote: »

Though I do find people who complain excessively about Americanisms utterly tiresome. We have loan words from many languages. There are lots of great American phrases. Why is it so bad to adopts ones you like?

Nothing at all ODB. I use some myself. But when near overnight some start sounding like nasally mid Atlantic cheesy 80's DJ's it kinda makes my hair itch(the rising inflection at the end of sentences... grrr). It's akin to the earlier trend with some where they tried to ape received British accents and it sounded just as false, try hard and cringe.

MrCostington

Saw this thread yesterday and remembered it after seeing this on the RTE homepage

"A perfect Thanksgiving feast, in three recipes " (ffs)
https://www.rte.ie/lifestyle/food/2018/1121/1012518-a-perfect-thanksgiving-feast-in-three-recipes/

And beside "Another Operation Transformation leader has been revealed " .

With the obesity problem we have, we need more of the latter and less of the former.

So, I vote no the the OPs question!

While I'm here, just got a work email yesterday with someone trying to "reach out" to someone else (all Irish people) - can we stop this now, please (have seen it on boards too).

Anyway, have to go now, McDonalds are at the door with my breakfast

Badly Drunk Boy

On the Ireland AM news this morning, they had a piece on Thanksgiving, the amount of people travelling for it (not from Ireland, by the way), with some footage/interviews from airports. What's the deal?

(I know...it's my own fault for watching it, but it's handy when I'm getting ready for work.)

MrCostington

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

On the Ireland AM news this morning, they had a piece on Thanksgiving, the amount of people travelling for it (not from Ireland, by the way), with some footage/interviews from airports. What's the deal?

Really? I think the retail industry must lobby the media to run such stories. All joking aside, I bet it will happen, just like black friday did.

Peregrinus

Wibbs wrote: »

We have, or had one already. Lughnasadh(in August/September IIRC). Though not exactly widely celebrated.

You're thinking of Samhain.

Why did you think we mark it by distributing fruit and nuts? Because the harvest is in, and we have plenty of food.