Thanksgiving Without the Turkey-Day Atmosphere (Week 47)
đ Life, just in German â Week 47
This past Thursday, I woke up with this unmistakable feeling in my body â a soft little tug that said, âToday is Thanksgiving.â
Except⌠outside my window, it was a regular Thursday in Germany.
The buses were running.
Kids were going to school.
The bakery was selling the same BrĂśtchen as always.
No one was basting anything.
And the strangest part?
Nothing special was happening here.
But inside me, something still was.
Growing up in the U.S., Thanksgiving had its own gravitational pull.
You could feel the whole country slowing down together â airports bursting, ovens warming, families gathering in whatever constellation they came in. You didnât have to explain anything: the day explained itself.
But in Germany?
Youâre the only one holding the meaning of the day.
Itâs tender. Itâs weird. And it can feel like being slightly out of sync with the world.
The Year I Tried to Recreate It Anyway
There was a year â actually, there were a few â when I tried to recreate Thanksgiving for my kids here.
I made the big meal.
Set the table.
Created the moment.
And the food was lovely⌠but something felt off.
Halfway through, I realized I was the only person at that table who had Thanksgiving memories.
The only one who felt the day.
My kids were sweet and curious. But without the collective rhythm â the national pause, the shared nostalgia â it felt like exactly what it was:
A nice dinner on a normal Thursday.
You can cook the food.
Decorate the house.
Tell the stories.
But you canât import the emotional ecosystem - the collective spirit.
And thatâs okay.
The Cultural Mismatch: Black Friday Without Thanksgiving
One of the oddly funny things about living in Germany is that almost everyone knows Black Friday â but many have no idea itâs connected to Thanksgiving.
People see the sale, not the season.
In the U.S., Black Friday exists because of Thanksgiving:
you celebrate first, and then the Christmas shopping season begins.
Here, that emotional anchor is missing â so the meaning doesnât land the same way.
And the origins? Theyâre not as glossy as the marketing.
In the 1960s, police in Philadelphia used âBlack Fridayâ to describe the chaos of jammed streets, overwhelmed stores, and unhappy crowds the day after Thanksgiving. It wasnât festive at all.
By the 1980s, retailers reframed it:
âBlackâ as in profit â the day sales finally went into the black.
That more positive spin is what helped the tradition spread globally.
So Black Friday is everywhere in GermanyâŚ
while the holiday that gives it meaning simply isnât.
Itâs one more small cultural mismatch â a reminder that some traditions travel easily, and others only make sense inside their original ecosystem.
So What Do We Do With That?
Over the years, Iâve stopped trying to recreate Thanksgiving the way it âshouldâ be.
Instead, Iâve learned to create meaning in smaller, quieter ways â the kind that actually fit my life here.
If youâre navigating that same tender Thursday, here are a few gentle options: choose what feels right for you:
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Light a candle for presence
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Send a message to someone who matters
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Write down three things youâre grateful for
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Cook one nostalgic dish (not the whole feast)
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Share a tiny tradition with your kids or partner
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Or borrow a local rhythm â light an Advent candle early, take a dusk walk, lean into the season that does exist here
Thereâs no right way to do this.
Thereâs only the way that feels honest to you today.
And if you chose something â or even if you chose nothing â Iâd love to hear how the day felt.
â The CafĂŠ Table â This Weekâs Curated Little Things
đ§ Podcast Highlight â Week 47: "Thanksgiving Without the Turkey"
This weekâs episode goes deeper into the emotional reality of holding a holiday alone abroad â with stories, language notes, and tender reassurances.
A soft listen for a soft day.
đ Cultural Tip â How to Explain Thanksgiving in German
Try: âHeute ist Thanksgiving in den USA. Das ist fĂźr mich ein besonderer Tag.â
Itâs warm, clear, and opens a gentle doorway to connection.
đ¸ Behind the Scenes â My âJust One Dishâ Tradition
I posted a photo of the one nostalgic thing I make every year â not a full feast, just something small that anchors me.
đ´ Whatâs Cooking â German Comfort with a Twist
A warm bowl of KĂźrbissuppe can absolutely count as Thanksgiving comfort food. Add roasted pumpkin seeds, a swirl of cream or pumpkin seed oil, and suddenly itâs a moment.
đ This Weekâs Read â âBelonging: Remembering Ourselves Homeâ
A beautiful companion for expats navigating identity, place, and softness.
đ§ł Destination â A Quiet Walk at Dusk
Late November in Germany is moody in the best possible way. The air changes. The world hushes. Go walk in it.
đ Around Wiesbaden / Rhein-Main
Candle-lit Advent concerts and winter readings are popping up now â grounding, gentle, and very German.
đ ď¸ Tools & Tricks â A1 Sentence for Grounding
âIch bin dankbar fĂźrâŚâ
Use it with anything.
Use it today.
đŹ Playtime â Phrase of the Week
âIch mache es heute auf meine Weise.â
Iâm doing it my way today.
Perfect for days when traditions donât translate.
đ§ From Next Level German
New December episodes are coming â all about Advent, German winter rhythms, and cultural fluency you can actually feel.
â Your 3 Tiny Wins This Week
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Name one thing youâre grateful for in German.
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Choose one tiny action that makes today yours.
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Tell one person what you did â in any language.
Thanks for being here
Living between cultures is delicate work.
Traditions arrive in pieces.
Meaning shifts.
We shift.
But youâre doing beautifully.
If this week stirred anything for you â longing, nostalgia, a tiny reclaimed ritual â hit reply and tell me. I would truly love to hear.
Warmly,
Christine
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