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Should we celebrate Thanksgiving in Ireland

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    #32
    DEFTLEFTHAND
    Registered Users Posts: 16,500 ✭✭✭✭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.


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    #33
    xi5yvm0owc1s2b
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,325 ✭✭✭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.


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    #34
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭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?


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    #35
    Badly Drunk Boy
    Registered Users Posts: 6,471 ✭✭✭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


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    #36
    witchgirl26
    Registered Users Posts: 2,078 ✭✭✭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.


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    #37
    topper75
    Registered Users Posts: 5,942 ✭✭✭topper75


    vicwatson wrote: »
    ee06a2d1d158cb39a57df4ecd70607d0.jpg

    ****ing hell. :D

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


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    #38
    w/s/p/c/
    Registered Users Posts: 468 ✭✭w/s/p/c/


    Bring back Arthur's Day!!!


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    #39
    Snickers Man
    Registered Users Posts: 5,301 ✭✭✭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.


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    #40
    starlit
    Registered Users Posts: 12,341 ✭✭✭✭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


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    #41
    incentsitive
    Registered Users Posts: 436 ✭✭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?


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    #42
    retro:electro
    Registered Users Posts: 21,039 ✭✭✭✭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


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    #43
    witchgirl26
    Registered Users Posts: 2,078 ✭✭✭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.


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    #44
    Boom_Bap
    Moderators, Music Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,730 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.


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    #45
    iguana
    Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 12,915 Mod ✭✭✭✭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


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    #46
    Wibbs
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,092 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



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    #47
    kneemos
    Registered Users Posts: 20,411 ✭✭✭✭kneemos


    Turkey once a year is more than enough.


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


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    #48
    blackbox
    Registered Users Posts: 4,155 ✭✭✭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.


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    #49
    Boom_Bap
    Moderators, Music Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,730 Mod ✭✭✭✭Boom_Bap


    mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Pumpkin Pie mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm


    source.gif


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    #50
    Elmo
    Registered Users Posts: 23,641 ✭✭✭✭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:


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    #51
    Electric Sheep
    Registered Users Posts: 2,104 ✭✭✭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.


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    #52
    Floppybits
    Registered Users Posts: 7,547 ✭✭✭Floppybits


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


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    #53
    Badly Drunk Boy
    Registered Users Posts: 6,471 ✭✭✭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.)


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    #54
    Electric Sheep
    Registered Users Posts: 2,104 ✭✭✭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.


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    #55
    jimgoose
    Registered Users Posts: 20,176 ✭✭✭✭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.


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    #56
    Obvious Desperate Breakfasts
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,474 ✭✭✭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.


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    #57
    Wibbs
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,092 Mod ✭✭✭✭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.

    Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.



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    #58
    MrCostington
    Registered Users Posts: 1,246 ✭✭✭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 :)


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    #59
    Badly Drunk Boy
    Registered Users Posts: 6,471 ✭✭✭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.)


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    #60
    MrCostington
    Registered Users Posts: 1,246 ✭✭✭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.


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    #61
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users Posts: 26,123 ✭✭✭✭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.


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