Happy 4th of Thanksgiving

This 4th of July was a bit more depressing than usual. The American expats in Auckland seemed to either be participating in a protest at the Consulate and presenting a copy of the 2020 Abortion Legalisation Act to American representatives here or just staying home and staying very quiet about their Americanness. We weren’t feeling up to joining the protest, so our happy solution was to stay warm in our kitchen and make the traditional Thanksgiving feast. It was a way of celebrating the US in a way that felt positive for our family and delicious in our bellies.

We’ve always struggled with the flip-lopped seasons and how that affects holidays in the southern hemisphere. It feels perpetually weird to have Christmas in the summer - complete with Santas wearing shorts and daylight until 9 pm, meaning few Christmas lights. Thanksgiving is equally weird to be celebrating in warmer months. It is way too hot to be cooking a turkey for hours in November in New Zealand. We’ve always said we needed to do Thanksgiving in the cooler months, but we never got around to it because let’s face it - Thanksgiving is a lot of work.

But this 4th of July, everything fell into place and we realized that this is the ideal way to celebrate both holidays. It was cold and rainy and cooking with the kids, while getting in a few US history lessons about both the 4th of July and Thanksgiving seemed perfect. All of the traditional Thanksgiving foods we want were in season and available. We even sourced an incredible turkey from St. John’s Butchery. Plus, I’ve found proper cornmeal at New World to make fresh cornbread for our perfect Thanksgiving stuffing.

I’m going to try to make this a “thing” here in New Zealand. If you’re an American expat in the Southern Hemisphere, plan on a 4th of Thanksgiving in 2023!