Celebrating Holidays Overseas 101

Thanksgiving morning here in Scotland dawned cold, crisp, and mostly clear, although there was some mist rising off the river. I loaded Georgie up into her sling and we went for a brisk walk down to the waterfront to take some pictures. 

Obviously, the British don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Or the 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day, or Presidents Day. Since we've been over here for over a year, we've adjusted our celebrating a bit to reflect on our current location. 

For this past Thanksgiving, we trotted up to ASDA (British Walmart) and found a British duck, a jar of cranberry sauce, some potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, and green beans. We made our own Thanksgiving dinner on Friday (instead of Thursday since Aaron was working that day) and took the time to contemplate our thankfulness for living in Scotland, our daughter, our health, and of course, our cats. ;) For us, Thanksgiving has become so much more than a huge meal, but rather has become an example of our intention to make our own traditions wherever we live.  

Part of adjusting to life overseas consists of embracing the culture. Instead of watching fireworks on the 4th of July this year, we bundled up on Bonfire Night (November 5th) and trekked out to see the fireworks in a local park. We're planning on the 25th of January, to celebrate Burns Night with a bit of poetry, perhaps some haggis and cullen skink, and potatoes of course. We already have our plans for Hogmanay, which is the Scottish New Year. 

By celebrating our holidays along with local holidays, by embracing new traditions alongside old ones, and by being flexible with what we've got, we have truly been able to enjoy our time overseas all the more.