For decades, Thanksgiving is celebrated on various dates in the United States and Canada. However, did you know that it is also a national holiday in Brazil and many other countries? This event takes place on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and Brazil. It usually involves a moment when the family comes together to enjoy the Thanksgiving meal, which includes turkey, bread stuffing, potatoes, cranberries, and pumpkin pie.
Thanksgiving is deeply rooted in legends and symbolism. Moreover, its meaning is found in similar celebrations such as the German Erntedankfest, the Japanese Kinrō Kansha no Hi or the Indian Pongal.
With time this event became the center of a new celebration: Friendsgiving!
Friendsgiving is for everyone
For ESN, Friendsgiving is every day! Although the current times are not promoting an abundance of real-life social activities, we make the best out of it. The Board is always up for no “good”: you can always find them in the ESN office creating Plans A and B for each event so they make sure that ESN offers participants their (possible) best or just chatting about so many different topics from self- development to the last Formula 1 race or…just simply enjoying each other’s company while working on planning the next big (online) adventure! When it comes to Committees each one of them is always in brainstorming sessions to create events for them and their fellow students or just having fun by enjoying each other’s company. This way we take the concept of Friendsgiving to the next level: family.
Although Thanksgiving might not be celebrated in your country, we as the ESN Content Committee see this holiday as universal, since it essentially is about being thankful and appreciating the people around us. We believe in the importance of celebrating Thanksgiving, because even in 2020 there is something to be thankful for. The way to celebrate however can be in different ways. For international students, being away from home does not mean that you miss your chances of being with loved ones. Here is our solution: Friendsgiving! The idea behind Friendsgiving is to create a gathering with close friends and loved ones to enjoy each other’s company and have fun. With busy schedules and piles of assignments, often we forget to cherish little things like dinners and game nights with friends. Here’s your chance!
Another great way to celebrate Thanks/Friendsgiving at home is to watch some of your favorite sitcoms’ thanksgiving episodes!
Top 10 sitcom episodes that will save your 2020 Thanksgiving
Friends
1. Season 8, Episode 9: “The One With the Rumor”
2. Season 5, Episode 8: “The One With All the Thanksgivings”
3. Season 10, Episode 8: “The One With the Late Thanksgiving”
https://ew.com/tv/2019/09/09/friendsgiving-friends-tour-announcement/
“But you gotta have turkey on Thanksgiving. I mean, Thanksgiving with no turkey is like Fourth of July with no apple pie. Or Friday with no two pizzas.” – Joey Tribianni
How I Met Your Mother
4. Season 6, Episode 10: “Blitzgiving”
5. Season 3, Episode 9: “Slapsgiving”
https://how-i-met-your-mother.fandom.com/wiki/TurTurkeyKey
“Instead of stuffing, I’m gonna fill the turkey with…a slightly smaller turkey. It’s called a TurturKeykey”. – Ted Mosby
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
6. Season 1, Episode 10: “Thanksgiving”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bj0j76KhTXA
“Gobble gobble… Gobble!” – Charles Boyle
Modern Family
7. Season 3, Episode 9: “Punkin Chunkin”
“There are dreamers and there are realists in this world. You’d think the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the realists, but more often than not the opposite is true. You see, the dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun” – Cameron Tucker
New Girl
8. S1E6 “Thanksgiving”
“Here’s another tip, don’t ask a guy out on a first date, on the least sexy holiday in America.” – Schmidt
The Office
9. Season 7, Episode 9: “com”
“Did I truck three hundred bales of hay to a parking lot to rectify some childhood disappointment? Yes.” – Dwight
That 70s Show
10. Season 1, Episode 9: “Thanksgiving”
“Your son is a whore” – Fez