This week we’ll be celebrating our first Thanksgiving in a country that does not celebrate Thanksgiving; in Spain, November 23rd will be known as, “Thursday”. I was not surprised that Spaniards do not celebrate the fourth Thursday of November, as it is a specifically American holiday (although more than one person back in the States asked me how they celebrated Thanksgiving in Spain, a nod, I guess, to the fact that different cultures celebrate holidays in different ways [see my blog on Halloween], but still showing a gross misunderstanding of their own history and the history of the holiday. I digress…). I WAS surprised to find, however, that Black Friday IS very much a part of the culture here, at least the commercial and economic culture.
Early in November these Black Friday signs started appearing outside shop doors or posted in shop windows. Not even “Viernes Negro”, which would be “Black Friday” in Spanish. Apparently the “holiday” began to be practiced (I refuse to say “celebrated” about a shopping holiday) in 2011 as a way of “encouraging shoppers to find the perfect gift”. As someone who doesn’t like to shop generally and has been shifting to experiential gifts rather than material ones, I won’t be participating in this annual extravaganza. I just find it interesting the American cultural practices and brands the rest of the world chooses to embrace.
One thing I AM supremely grateful for is the crispy fried onions that I found easily – our green bean casserole wouldn’t be the same without them!
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