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What do you do for Thanksgiving in Japan?

thejapanguy

先輩
12 Nov 2010
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It's almost November 25th, and that means Thanksgiving is upon us. For the third year in a row I won't be going home. I'll have to make that home-sickening phone call to my family knowing full well that they're going to be eating turkey, stuffing, casseroles a plenty, real macaroni and cheese, cranberry sauce, ham, carrot cake, chocolate cake, red velvet cake, sweet potato pie... I think I just gained 10 pounds thinking about it.

But anyway, what do you do for Thanksgiving in Japan?
 
Nothing. My Japanese family and I don't celebrate it at all. Maybe in later years we will, but not in the 9 years we have been together.

Some expats get together with a turkey and fixings from Costco or The Foreign Buyers' Club. Kinda late for you now, but perhaps a group has expressed an invitation?

Can't really celebrate on Thursday anyway, as it's a work day (and so is Friday).
 
[Labor] Thanksgiving was Tuesday, and I spent it cleaning the house. Labor Thanksgiving (Kinro-kansha no hi) derives from Niiname-sai, which is an ancient ceremony held to celebrate the autumnal harvest, so the basic idea is similar (sans the Pilgrims)? In Japan today, it is celebrated by the Imperial Family and Shinto shrines.

I used to cook turkey and trimmings on US Thanksgiving Day for my kids as a "learn what Americans do" experience when they were small. Now, it's just another day. 😊
 
Thanks for the replies. Actually, I worked, too. But I did take part in a early Thanksgiving celebration with some coworkers and friends the weekend before.
 
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