Thanksgiving

When I saw the calendar at my new job and saw that we have Thanksgiving off from work I was very excited - it is my favorite holiday after all.  I thought, see, working at an International school has it's perks!  Then, I learned that Japan actually has a Thanksgiving all their own.  

Here in Japan Thanksgiving is November 23rd, every year.  It is actually called Labor Thanksgiving Day.  It doesn't move around like in the states.  So, occasionally both the US and Japan will have Thanksgiving on the same calendar date.    Thanksgiving here has nothing to do with Pilgrims, Native Americans, turkey or football.  Here is is a day set aside to honor and thank laborers.  The holiday was signed into law in 1948, after WWII ended and the Japanese people created a new constitution to expand the rights of workers while also marking the expansion and guarantee of basic human rights.  While the holiday is relatively young, it is reminiscent of an ancient harvest festival called Niinamesai.  This ritual is thought to have begun over 2000 years ago.  On this day, the Emperor of Japan would take the first harvest of rice and offer it to the gods, then enjoy some rice for himself.  This ancient ritual is closer in meaning to the US version of Thanksgiving - at least, the original US version of Thanksgiving anyway!

For many of my friends and family, Thanksgiving means being together, eating too much, maybe drinking too much, watching football, and the highly dreaded, secretly anticipated, Black Friday Shopping (which has seemingly crept it's way to Thursday now).  It means all those same things to me, however, it means a little more to me too.

I was born on Thanksgiving, 1979.  Growing up I was often reminded that because of me, my family was made to miss their Thanksgiving meal.  (I believe that the trade off was worth it, but that is only my opinion.)  Being that the date for Thanksgiving changes, my birthday only falls on the actual day every 11 years.  So, this is the year!  This year I turn 33, on Thanksgiving.  I will be attempting to make a small Thanksgiving meal.  Focus on the word attempting...I am missing some basic tools like a whisk, a roasting pan, my mom...but it'll work out.  

While we're on the subject of me, I'm going to tell you a quick story that I think of every year on my birthday.

My parents could not agree on a name for me.  My father was set on Rainy or Stormy.  My Mom wanted Jacquieline Jean, JJ for short.  Since they couldn't agree, I was nameless for a bit.  In the hospital where I was born there was a fountain with a little toy ambulance in the center.  The toy was made by the Tonka Toy Company.  Remember them?  Well, I guess that sitting there, staring at "Tonka" for who knows how long, my Mom came up with Tawnya.  And, I was named.  Guess what my nickname was growing up?  

Happy Thanksgiving all!