U-Korner: First Thanksgiving

The American Thanksgiving Experience

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Foreign Exchange student Sia Skoryk enjoys an American Thanksgiving Meal with her host family.

Anastasiia Skoryk, Guest Columnist

I do not know about you, but I have a lot of people to say thank you to. To be grateful is really important. It helps us to understand that everything in this world is a gift and we should to appreciate each moment of our life.

Every fourth Thursday in November people celebrate Thanksgiving Day in America. The history of this event is really great.  It has been celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863. As a federal and public holiday in the United States, Thanksgiving is the one of the major holidays of the year.

In Ukraine people do not celebrate Thanksgiving Day, as in Germany and other countries in Europe. It is not bonded with our history. Ukrainians have different holidays, which Americans do not have. This is because of the history too. And yes, we do not celebrate Independence Day on 4th July. Ukrainian Independence Day is on 24th August. We have other dates which reflect events we remember. Sometimes you should remember what did happen in the past to prevent it from happening in the future. One of this dates is the Day of Famine which is on 22nd November. In this day everybody in Ukraine put a candle in window as a sign of our respect to people who live in this time. This is part of our history. This is one of the most important dates in November in Ukraine.

As exchange student I can say that my Thanksgiving was very interesting. Especially I like Black Friday shopping. Who knew that Americans could be so crazy?! But I really did enjoy my break with my host family and my lovely sister.

Thanksgiving was a really good experience to show how grateful you are. I am grateful for my exchange year, my host family, my teachers, my sister, my friends… But what are you thankful for?