Thanksgiving is a celebration unknown to people who live outside the United States; those living outside the USA have only heard about it or seen it in movies, but they do not think about the real meaning of this celebration. The first Thanksgiving celebration that I had was when my sister who lives in San Diego invited us to visit her for Thanksgiving. However, I felt strange celebrating something that I did not understand, and I only viewed it as an opportunity to share an early Christmas celebration with my sister and her family.
Nevertheless, 4 years after that experience, all is different in my life. Now I live in the United States far away from my family, my country and all my family traditions, which I miss a lot. We are immigrants, and now more than ever I’ve started to understand the meaning of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a day to be grateful for all the blessings that we have in our lives, and it is different from other celebrations like Christmas, Hanukkah, or anything else because this is a celebration for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re religious or not. It is a celebration to say thanks for everything that we have and we’ve received in this country where I am an immigrant and where I found amazing people who gave me their support and help when I needed it to make me feel home. Thanksgiving is not a commercial celebration. It is more like a friendship celebration because, despite being far away from home, Thanksgiving makes us feel at home.
