Thanksgiving Day as Seen from a British Viewpoint
Do You Celebrate Thanksgiving Where You Come From?
This is a poem that I wrote about some of the amusing comments that I heard during my 15 years of residence in the USA...
"Do you celebrate Thanksgiving there in the UK?"
Was a question I often heard Americans say
"Do you sit down to turkey, and eat pumpkin pie?"
When I replied that we didn't, they would want to know why
The Pilgrims were people who didn't quite fit
So they all left their homeland and went on a trip
On The Mayflower they crossed the ocean far wide
And settled in new lands there on the far side
Difficulties arose, finding enough food to eat
But the indigenous peoples helped them get on their feet
To commemorate this event, Thanksgiving was begun
And families and friends sit down to dinner as one
In Europe there were so many mouths to feed
So a few people less was a blessing indeed
We don't really celebrate, and this might sound quite brash
But if we did give thanks, it would be for getting rid of the trash.
Well I made similar comments to people who asked
And some saw the joke, and we had a good laugh
But some were offended, to that I can attest
Which is really quite sad, since it was just said in jest
We don't have a reason so celebrate Thanksgiving
Nor Fourth of July, they're not British traditions
Every country is different in their own celebrations
That's what makes us unique, we are all different nations.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone from across the pond
Published by Tony Payne
Tony Payne is a freelance writer who lives on the South Coast of England with his wife Debbie. He has worked in the IT Industry all his life, and has been writing on various sites for the last 10 years. T... View profile
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39 Comments
Post a CommentNo "indians" are "indigenous" peoples. They crossed the Berring Strait to come here, so they had no more claim to this land than the Europeans, they just got here sooner. If they insisted on remaining a nomadic people, and not "modernizing" like the Europeans, well, they they lose. Too bad.
Well it just goes to show that you can't please everyone, no matter how you try, and for your note Guest Bob, I am an American Citizen, but if you can't see the funny side in this, then I feel sorry for you.
Maybe you are one of those Black One Legged Jewish Lesbians who take offense at everything...
You Brits will do anything to laugh & mock us American's.
You didn't think us so vulgar & brainless when you needed our help in fighting the German's, now did you?
I thought the poem was both tastless, and insulting!
LOL - I love the poem !
This was great, Tony. And yes, you definitely need to write about British holidays!!!
Yes, write about British Holidays :) In Canada they celebrate the harvest. Do you have a similar day to celebrate a harvest?
I can't remember when I first realized this. But I do know it shocked me way back when.
I think I might have to write about British holidays, that might be a good topic. Thanks for the idea...
I wonder if so many Americans assume that all countries celebrate the same traditions, because they are very much taught mostly about America from the day that they were born. The USA is indeed a very patriotic country, well definitely compared to the UK. Since many Americans also don't have the opportunity to travel overseas, they don't experience the world outside of their own.
What is so normal for us, we sometimes forget it is all tied to our national history. Very cool poem.