To be annoyed by Thanksgiving in the UK?

[talomon]

Is it me or Thanksgiving is becoming quite widespread in the UK?

I studied in the states and live in central London, so maybe I am exposed to American people more than most, but I still feel many of my Brit and French friends and acquittances have started hosting Thanksgiving and treating it like a major holiday. Ten years ago it was quite obscure.

I mean I get that it's a nice occasion, and the food spread looks nice especially for social media, but still I am not sure I like it.

YANBU = Our culture is becoming to Americanized
YABU = It's a great holiday to celebrate

Never known anyone British to celebrate it. I had an American roommate in London who organised a party for it . Fine. Love a party!

No, don't know any non-Americans who do this. However, as this appears to be the annual MN Thanksgiving yes or no thread, can we have some recipes please? I've never fully understood the sweet potato marshmallow dish. It's not a dessert but a savoury side?

YABU. What does it matter to you what other people do?

Not seen anything about Thanksgiving apart from being invited to a Thanksgiving meal a few years ago by an American friend.

I don’t know any non American people who celebrate….doesn’t seem widespread to me

It must be the bubble you live in. I live in London and nobody I know celebrates it. Of course, I remember it for the sales (did rather well this year) and the story is nice even though things didn't probably pan out how the myth is sold to us.

As with a lot of 'American' things, thanksgiving actually has its roots in British culture.

When I was a child in Scotland in the 80s, 'harvest festival' was still a thing. The harvest festival is basically what was taken over to the Americas and is what's celebrated now by Canada and the US on their thanksgivings.

I’ve never heard of it in the U.K.
AFAIK it’s a purely American thing - dating back to the very early settlers giving thanks for getting the harvest in - so that there’d be food during the brutal New England winter.

I don't know anyone who does it but our local butchers sells TG turkeys for local Yanks. I'm in zone 2 London.
Also, we don't get a day off.
Further, I thought it was partly to celebrate booting out the English, although I may have got that wrong, so it wouldn't make sense at all here.

We celebrate as in my American friends invite us to, wouldn't notice it otherwise

Thanksgiving is a big deal in the US - arguably more important than Christmas. Americans who celebrate it in the UK often do so without much fanfare - it's a fairly quiet holiday, about seeing family and friends and having a particular, traditional meal.

I have never heard of anyone celebrating Thanksgiving who isn't American or invited to the home of someone American. And it would be kind of offensive to co-opt this holiday without a cultural connection to it.

It's not Halloween, easily exported and adapted wherever. It is very much a holiday tied to a particular place, culture and history.

I don’t know anyone but do know lots who have no connection to Ireland who dress up and celebrate St Patrick’s day.

Retailers will use any holiday/celebratory day it to drum up trade obviously. Especially in London where more Americans may live and work.

I'm American and have been living in the UK for 20 years. Even I don't celebrate Thanksgiving anymore because it's just another day here. Never met anyone here that celebrates, but I don't live in London.

Thanksgiving is a great holiday though. No presents to buy, no decorating, really the least commercial of our holidays, not religious so everyone can celebrate. Eat and watch football/ the parade. Spend time with family.

The UK already has the worst bit about Thanksgiving- Black Friday, the day after. It would be nice to have the good part too. And it holds off Christmas until December.

My sister celebrated it once at university as she was sharing accommodation with an American girl and they did it for her. I thought it was a really nice gesture. Other than that I've never heard of anyone celebrating it in the UK.

I don't understand the issue with people having a nice time together?

I'll cook a mini turkey dinner on the Thursday - we've got a few relations who are American so we "celebrate" together over FaceTime

Further, I thought it was partly to celebrate booting out the English, although I may have got that wrong, so it wouldn't make sense at all here

You’re thinking of Independence Day

American Thanksgiving is harvest festival with an emphasis on the first pilgrims is my understanding of it. Wikipedia tells me that other countries have official thanksgiving days too (Canada and Germany amongst them) but the American one is the one that has a lot of cultural exposure.

I don’t know anyone who celebrates it over here.

Never heard of anyone in the UK celebrating it.

It's irrelevant here and also too close to Christmas so I can't really see it becoming a thing over here.

It's not a thing In the UK is it
People barely know what it is other than some have vague awareness of it spawning black Friday
I've literally never heard it being observed in the UK

Unless they have American friends who have invited them to their celebrations, I don't know anyone who celebrates thanksgiving in the UK.

@talomon Judging by most of the answers I think it's just your exposure. I don't know anyone in the UK who celebrates it. Try to just look past it now.

I don't know anyone who celebrates Thanksgiving, bar a couple of friends of friends - but they are Americans living in the UK.

Wasn't even mentioned at my school. We don't currently have any pupils with American backgrounds so it didn't come up.

I only knew it was Thanksgiving as I remembered Black Friday is the day after.

If you are seeing lots of people celebrating, are you mixing with a lot of people with US backgrounds perhaps?

I inadvertently made a pumpkin sauce for a pasta dish on Thursday. Only because I decided to use one of the pumpkins I grew over the summer and not for any other reason.