4 hours ago, Jingthing said:

So what are you thankful for this year, if anything?

Every year that goes by where I can still eat, sh*t, sleep, puff and bang is a year to be thankful for. Always need to be grateful for the simplest of pleasures, especially the ones we often take for granted. 

7 minutes ago, short-Timer said:

I'll inform the colonizers. 

 

You sir are a true patriot.

20 minutes ago, blaze master said:

 

You sir are a true patriot.

I try and show my deep gratitude by giving everyone a reach around on this special day of thanks. And this time you don't even have to pay me. 

5 hours ago, Jingthing said:

 

Thanksgiving in the USA is traditionally about expressing thanks for the good things/people in our lives, 

...

So what are you thankful for this year, if anything?

 

I have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day.  I'm safe, warm, in relatively good health and able to eat  my fill when so many lack the basics of life.  I can express my opinions freely and engage in activities I enjoy, which is also important.  I am thankful, too, for all the good memories I carry with me from the years I lived in Thailand.

 

And I do love the traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner!

 

 

For BMs who may be a bit bored with the endless discussions of Trump, Gaza, the Ukraine and dual pricing, here's some info about Thanksgiving Day:

• The traditional story of the "First Thanksgiving" in 1621 is largely myth.  The Pilgrims of  Plymouth Colony invited, or at least entertained, members of the local Wampanoag tribe at a harvest feast that lasted three days. That event did take place, but not in the form it is usually pictured.  Just about every detail in the traditional story- the purpose of the celebration, the food eaten and the clothing of the Pilgrims- is wrong.
• In the 1600s,  days of Thanksgiving were about fasting, not feasting.  They were religious occasions with people given time off work to fast, pray, attend church services and study the Bible.  Big dinners weren't part of early days of Thanksgiving.  The Pilgrim dinner shared with the Wampanoag warriors was a localized version of an English harvest festival.
• Venison stew was probably the main dish at the meal, with ducks and shellfish also eaten. 

                                                          Venison stew, Pilgrim style

• Porridge made from "Indian corn" (maize) would also have been included.  It's possible wild turkey was included in the feasting, but it would have been chopped up and boiled, not roasted whole.  Neither white potatoes nor sweet potatoes (yams) had been introduced yet to the New England area.  Besides corn, beans and squash would have been the vegetables. The Pilgrims did not have wheat flour, sugar or dairy products in 1621, so any sort of pie or bread-based stuffing was out of the question.  Cranberry sauce as an accompaniment to meat dishes was not recorded until 50 years later.
• The 1621 harvest festival was a one-off event, not an annual occurrence. The exact date is unknown, but it most likely took place in early October before the weather got too cold.  By the 1660s, harvest festivals had become regular autumn celebrations in the Massachusetts colony, although this varied from community to community.  These festivals were independent events and did not commemorate the 1621 festival.
•  The celebration as we think of it today did not become a national holiday until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the final Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.  His proclamation was directly tied to the Civil War turning in favor of the Union after the victories at the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, It was also the culmination of a 36-year campaign by  Sarah Josefa Hale, an influential woman of the era, to establish a secular family-style day of Thanksgiving.  Hale was editor of the widely read women's magazine, Godey's Lady's Book.  Hale's vision of Thanksgiving dinner, based on what had by then become New England tradition, established the "standardized"  menu with roast turkey, stuffing, mashed and sweet potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.  Hale was also the author of the famous nursery rhyme, Mary Had a Little Lamb.

The sources for the above info include https://www.si.edu/spotlight/thanksgiving/history and

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thanksgiving-Day.

 

 

1 hour ago, Celsius said:

Trump

Is this what he calls pardoning the bird? It would've been better off without the pardon.
 

3 minutes ago, short-Timer said:

I try and show my deep gratitude by giving everyone a reach around. And this time you don't even have to pay me. 

 

For the land of the freeeeeeee....and the home of the braaaave.

Especially ALL US citizens should be thankful. The early settlers would not have made it without the help of the locals (the Indians). 
At the end of harvest season they sat together and feasted. The first thanksgiving so to speak.

 

Shortly after, the settlers started to shoot at the locals "confiscating" their land. Making it the greatest real estate deal of all time: Get a whole new continent without having to pay for it. The greatest "business opportunity" there ever was.

 

This is an American Thing. Why should the rest of the world celebrate the greatest "land grab" there ever was?

 

I say thanks, born in 1952 in Europe, I never had to fight in any wars. Not having to shoot at anyone that I don't know and has done nothing against me.

 

To live in a "war-free" historical time frame (at least in western Europe) is a privilege that our ancestors in Europe have not experianced before.

 

What a golden age I had the priviledge to live in.

 

Thanks.

 

Good post. Thanks. I used to have more issues than I do now. I worked on my attitude, which was getting in the way of appreciating Thailand for what it is, and was clouding my experience here. Used to stress over stupid stuff, as you can see from some of my past posts, years ago. Used to allow the politics to make me angry. Now it is not something I take seriously, just something I comment on, without anger or an emotional investment. Now, I just tend to laugh it off. Spent some real time back in the US recently, and it allowed some clarity and perspective, that I am very grateful for. Now, I just chuckle at most of the nonsense. Water off a duck's back, so to speak. 

 

 A friend of mine is looking for an apartment to move to in LA, and really small, simple places are 70,000 baht per month. Nice two bedrooms are closer to 100,000 baht. Decent homes start at 125,000 baht per month. The cost of nearly everything has gone up dramatically. Runaway inflation? 

 

Thailand is still reasonable. It used to be cheap. Has not been cheap for a long time. But, it is still reasonable. I know people who pay 10,000 baht a month for newer 3 bedroom houses in nice towns. In major cities in the US? $2000-3800 a month. That is 120,000 baht!

 

So, I am very, very grateful to be here. And to be healthy. On a daily basis. 

 

 

12 hours ago, Jingthing said:

 

Thanksgiving in the USA is traditionally about expressing thanks for the good things/people in our lives, if any, eating (overeating) a turkey based feast with assorted traditional comfort foods, watching football games/parades, and tensions with relatives that you never see any other time.

I think most of that can be universalized.

It's nice to express thanks.

Who doesn't love a feast? 

Most people enjoy watching sporting events, or if not escaping to another room to escape such people.

Who doesn't have insufferable relatives? Perhaps you're an insufferable relative. 

 

So what are you thankful for this year, if anything?

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to you Jing.

Up north our thanksgiving was last month, but you knew that...................right?

12 hours ago, save the frogs said:

 

Give thanks for being in Thailand, a great country.

 

Give thanks for your presidential leader, whoever it may be.

 

Agree about being in Thailand, a great country. But "Give thanks for your presidential leader" you got to be joking! 

8 hours ago, short-Timer said:

Is this what he calls pardoning the bird? It would've been better off without the pardon.
 

Looks like he is **** the bird which would be true to form

8 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

 

I have many things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day.  I'm safe, warm, in relatively good health and able to eat  my fill when so many lack the basics of life.  I can express my opinions freely and engage in activities I enjoy, which is also important.  I am thankful, too, for all the good memories I carry with me from the years I lived in Thailand.

 

And I do love the traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner!

 

 

For BMs who may be a bit bored with the endless discussions of Trump, Gaza, the Ukraine and dual pricing, here's some info about Thanksgiving Day:

• The traditional story of the "First Thanksgiving" in 1621 is largely myth.  The Pilgrims of  Plymouth Colony invited, or at least entertained, members of the local Wampanoag tribe at a harvest feast that lasted three days. That event did take place, but not in the form it is usually pictured.  Just about every detail in the traditional story- the purpose of the celebration, the food eaten and the clothing of the Pilgrims- is wrong.
• In the 1600s,  days of Thanksgiving were about fasting, not feasting.  They were religious occasions with people given time off work to fast, pray, attend church services and study the Bible.  Big dinners weren't part of early days of Thanksgiving.  The Pilgrim dinner shared with the Wampanoag warriors was a localized version of an English harvest festival.
• Venison stew was probably the main dish at the meal, with ducks and shellfish also eaten. 

                                                          Venison stew, Pilgrim style

• Porridge made from "Indian corn" (maize) would also have been included.  It's possible wild turkey was included in the feasting, but it would have been chopped up and boiled, not roasted whole.  Neither white potatoes nor sweet potatoes (yams) had been introduced yet to the New England area.  Besides corn, beans and squash would have been the vegetables. The Pilgrims did not have wheat flour, sugar or dairy products in 1621, so any sort of pie or bread-based stuffing was out of the question.  Cranberry sauce as an accompaniment to meat dishes was not recorded until 50 years later.
• The 1621 harvest festival was a one-off event, not an annual occurrence. The exact date is unknown, but it most likely took place in early October before the weather got too cold.  By the 1660s, harvest festivals had become regular autumn celebrations in the Massachusetts colony, although this varied from community to community.  These festivals were independent events and did not commemorate the 1621 festival.
•  The celebration as we think of it today did not become a national holiday until 1863 when President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the final Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day.  His proclamation was directly tied to the Civil War turning in favor of the Union after the victories at the battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, It was also the culmination of a 36-year campaign by  Sarah Josefa Hale, an influential woman of the era, to establish a secular family-style day of Thanksgiving.  Hale was editor of the widely read women's magazine, Godey's Lady's Book.  Hale's vision of Thanksgiving dinner, based on what had by then become New England tradition, established the "standardized"  menu with roast turkey, stuffing, mashed and sweet potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie.  Hale was also the author of the famous nursery rhyme, Mary Had a Little Lamb.

The sources for the above info include https://www.si.edu/spotlight/thanksgiving/history and

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thanksgiving-Day.

 

 

Enjoyed reading your info on the Thanksgiving story, not being american I do not celebrate it though know it is a big part of american culture.

 

I do see the irony in your post displaying the Israel flag and " I'm safe, warm, in relatively good health and able to eat  my fill" when the Palestinians do not have the luxuary of any of this, food, peace, health, all they have is genocide by the Israel goverment.

 

Saying that I wish you well. 

Completely skipped my mind, till seeing this thread, as most western holidays do.  Had that ... "oh yea, that's today"  thought  

For those of us, to be kind, not fans of organized farang TGD events (dinners), there are options 

 

... easy would have been Subway, but Thais know crap food offerings when they see it, Subway Roast Turkey Sandwich, possibly their only good menu item, not available where I am, as permanently closed down.

 

Villa market has a few options, well overpriced for my taste buds, for a holiday flashback.  Build your own sandwich or, almost a meal ...

 

 

Budget version for the Patts box room dweller, If not dining alone, buy 2 ...

 

 

 

For the CC ... 

 

 

 

15 hours ago, Jingthing said:

So what are you thankful for this year, if anything?

I am happy and thankful for every single minute in my life! It can´t be better.

15 hours ago, brian69 said:

Another made up US holiday, and with turkey, turkey is for Xmas, it's the Harvest Festival..

Aren't all holidays made up?

Just depends on how long ago.

You bring up Christmas, add Easter and you have two of the silliest "made up" holidays.

One celebrates a virgin having a baby and the other a guy coming back from the dead.

Definitely made up.

3 hours ago, stupidfarang said:

Looks like he is **** the bird which would be true to form

 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone — may all creatures enjoy natural lives… well, maybe not the commercial turkeys. Courage of 2009 had an exceptional lifespan of 6 years. Typically pardoned commercial turkeys live about 1½–1¾ years after the ceremony. Poor things.

16 hours ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

I don't really like how Halloween has become a thing in Australia .. doesn't feel natural. Thanksgivings isn't a thing but the sales that go with it are 

 

 

US has three drunk and rowdy holidays:  NYE, Halloween, and St Pats (not including impromptu celebrations, like sports victories/losses, impeachments, etc).  I can't think of one damn reason Australia would reject another excuse to get drunk and rowdy.

 

Happy Thanksgiving to All.

 

And, for those who have adopted my daily diet of tuna, 5-egg-omelettes, and chicken-breast-meat, I say...

Congratulations.

 

Thanksgiving Day is NO REASON to break from this omelette diet, by the way.

Don't fall off the chicken-wagon, just to feed yourself with unhealthy food, today.

 

Regards,

Gobble-Gobble GammaGlobulin

 

 

6 hours ago, KhunLA said:

For those of us, to be kind, not fans of organized farang TGD events (dinners), there are options 

 

... easy would have been Subway, but Thais know crap food offerings when they see it, Subway Roast Turkey Sandwich, possibly their only good menu item, not available where I am, as permanently closed down.

 

Villa market has a few options, well overpriced for my taste buds, for a holiday flashback.  Build your own sandwich or, almost a meal ...

 

 

Budget version for the Patts box room dweller, If not dining alone, buy 2 ...

 

 

 

For the CC ... 

 

 

 

 

How very unappetizing.

 

Seems to me that one would need about 8-pints of LEO in order to wash down this ....this....

STUFF.

 

JMHO

 

 

 

This is a North American holiday....nowt to do with most of the rest of the world.

Turkey sucks.

It's dry and bland.

It tastes like cardboard and makes you sleepy.

The amount of tryptophan in that stuff must be off the charts. 

 

How did it get elevated to a higher status where we are supposed to have it at fancy holiday meals?

Is there a turkey conspiracy?

If I never have to eat turkey again, AMEN and Thank GOD for that. 

 

19 hours ago, Keeps said:

Marshmallows on sweet potatoes as a side dish to a roast turkey dinner? What on earth are you thinking? You can shove Thanksgiving up your ar$e. I'll wait for my Christmas roast dinner thanks. 

Try carrots

7 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Villa market has a few options, well overpriced for my taste buds, for a holiday flashback.  Build your own sandwich or, almost a meal ...

 

Villa Market has plenty of microwave  and no-cook options, from the budget conscious ...

 

to a full-out extravagant splurge ...

 

 

 

On 11/26/2025 at 5:10 PM, Jingthing said:

 

Thanksgiving in the USA is traditionally about expressing thanks for the good things/people in our lives, if any, eating (overeating) a turkey based feast with assorted traditional comfort foods, watching football games/parades, and tensions with relatives that you never see any other time.

I think most of that can be universalized.

It's nice to express thanks.

Who doesn't love a feast? 

Most people enjoy watching sporting events, or if not escaping to another room to escape such people.

Who doesn't have insufferable relatives? Perhaps you're an insufferable relative. 

 

So what are you thankful for this year, if anything?

 

 

 

 

I am most thankful for President Trump. 

42 minutes ago, dutch boy said:

I am most thankful for President Trump. 

So you're the one,

5 hours ago, Usnh said:

This is a North American holiday....nowt to do with most of the rest of the world.

For sure.

Starting this topic I was in no way suggesting that others should celebrate it. 

3 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

So you're the one,

He is bored polishing his clogs