Hello again and welcome back to America under the Microscope. Hello, James.
Hello, Lulu.
Actually, today is Thanksgiving in America, right? If we're going by the US time.
You're right, it is Thanksgiving. And now I'm sad …
Awww … but shall we try to get your spirits up by talking about Thanksgiving?
Sure. So why don't we have a little Thanksgiving special this episode?
Great! So let us do that. Talking about Thanksgiving, I guess many Chinese when they don't really know Thanksgiving, they think of Thanksgiving just like another western holiday like Christmas or Easter, but it's not just western, it's specifically for North Americans.
Right. So people in the UK, they don't celebrate Thanksgiving. It is celebrated in the United States and in Canada, albeit on different days. Uh in the United States where I'm from, it's celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November.
So the actual date changes every year.
Yes, but it's always a Thursday, and it's always the fourth one. So this year is a little bit late because the first day of November was a Friday.
If you look at all these films and TVs that's produced in America, then kind of get the feeling that Thanksgiving is somehow a bigger deal, or at least as important as Christmas. Is that true?
Yeah, that's absolutely true because the thing a lot of people forget about Christmas, Christmas has a lot of you know, religious origins and not everyone celebrates that religion. So Thanksgiving doesn't have that. So Thanksgiving is celebrated by all groups of people, new immigrants, people of different religious beliefs they will all celebrate Thanksgiving.
So it's just more like a day for people to get together and to eat.
Well. It's not just about eating; it's also about being thankful for what we have. When we see each other on Thanksgiving, we always say things like happy Thanksgiving.
And then that's absolutely fine because it has no religious background. So you can just say happy Thanksgiving to everyone.
Yeah, and they'll say happy Thanksgiving too.
Since it is a big holiday, do people get days off? Is it just Thanksgiving Day or do they get like a holiday, a few-days holiday?
Well, this will be a little bit confusing. The official holiday is just Thanksgiving, but most office workers they will have an extended weekend. So they have Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Ah, it's actually not that confusing because people do that in China. You should know that sometimes we just …
But there is no make up.
Oh you don't have to make up.
You don't have to make up any work.
不用补休。So it's just Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So it's kind of like a longer weekend.
Right, but for students, they may have a whole week off.
But that's just for younger kids, I would imagine. Because if you think about university students, don't they have finals to prepare?
Um, they do very close to the holiday. So when I was a student, my university's Thanksgiving break was Wednesday through Sunday. We still had class on Monday and Tuesday. My brother's university, they had the whole week off, but it's not so much a break for university students because it is so close to final exams that some students they do go home, they see their family, but there's also have the mind is like, hey this is a good time to review, so I can be ready for my exams.
You always have that at the back of your head. You can't really relax in that sense. Um, it's always nicer to have a big holiday after your finals. And then about the origins, I believe I've mentioned that in the show in some previous episodes. So the whole idea was actually quite simple. It was just about the original settlers, they moved from England trying to look for a new life here on this new land.
That's correct.
And then they got help from the Native Americans so that they could get like a good harvest. So this was just a meal for them to celebrate that harvest and also to give thanks.
Right, all Americans learned this in elementary school. These Pilgrims, they didn't like the way the king of England was doing things at the time. So they all got bought a boat called the Mayflower in 1620, tried to cross the Atlantic Ocean, and landed in the New World in 1621. And then there was a native tribe called the Wampanoag , and the native tribe help these pilgrims, but with harvesting and growing crops and Thanksgiving was celebrated as an autumn harvest festival.
Like you said, it is not a religious celebration. It is more to celebrate the harvest.
Yeah, it is a harvest festival.
Since it is a harvest festival, I'm sure it is quite food oriented. I know you said it's not just about food, but food is a big part of it.
Yeah. This is probably the thing that I think most Chinese would like about Thanksgiving. It's about food, at least partially. So one thing that I think many people will like about Thanksgiving is, yeah, it has a big meal and people like to eat.
That is your big turkey day. Not your Christmas, but Thanksgiving, it's your turkey day.
To Americans, Thanksgiving is turkey day, not Christmas, it's Thanksgiving.
So every family needs to cook a turkey?
Well, “need” is not the correct word.
Traditionally.
Traditionally yes, families will cook turkeys. In fact, many companies will give a turkey as a holiday gift. Kind of like in China, right before New Year's, people will get oil, rice and oranges, we get a turkey.
I'm assuming uncooked.
Yes, raw, frozen turkey.
You can go and cook it yourself. But was that the same they ate at the first Thanksgiving? Was that a thing like turkey?
Well, turkey is existed, the wild turkeys, but that's not what they ate. They ate deer, duck, seafood, and just seasonal vegetables, the things that they had and that were nearby and easy to hunt.
Apart from turkey, what are the other really really traditional food that is associated with Thanksgiving? I mean based on my years of watching all these shows and talking to Americans, I would say like sweet potatoes, like yam, you guys call it yam?
Yeah, we have sweet potato made into what's called sweet potato casserole.
Mashed?
Yeah it's mashed sweet potato and on top of it, they put a marshmallow topping and toasted. For me personally I find this dish to be incredibly disgusting.
It doesn't sound great. It would be very very sweet, sweet potato marshmallow.
Me, I'm not a fan of this dish. I'd never eat it.
And you have cranberry sauce.
Yeah we have cranberry sauce that we can put on bread or even eat it with the meat or wherever we want.
Is it primarily because they are a bit sour so that takes a bit of the grease away?
Yeah.
And pumpkin pie.
I miss pumpkin pie.
I mean you can make it in China. I made it before. It's not that difficult.
You can get everything you need to make pumpkin pie in China. You need pumpkin, you need some kind of milk, you need eggs. Yeah, pretty much that's it.
It's quite easy. It's one of those quite easy dessert to make.
It's a little intimidating at first for many people. But yes, it is quite simple to make.
And then dinner is cooked, and people are gathering around the table. They're eating. But before they eat they will say what they're thankful for going around the table. Is that a tradition?
Yes. For many families, they will … may not be before they eat, it will probably be while they're eating. So how Thanksgiving dinner will start is, so the table will be set, everyone's gonna be sitting down with all the side dishes, the potatoes, the sweat potatoes and all those other things will be on the table. Then they'll bring out the turkey. Then the host will carve the turkey and that's a special position, carving the turkey.
So does that mean you're head of the household, then you get to carve the turkey?
Yeah. They carve the turkey, then people start eating and start drinking wine and whatnot. And after people are, you know have gorged themselves a little bit.
They eat themselves into a food coma?
Then yes, people will start going around the table saying what they're thankful for. And they'll say phrases like hi, I'm thankful for my family or I'm thankful for my new job. Or sometimes it gives some really silly things like I'm thankful for this wine.
Well, I suppose if you're filled with the wine, you probably want to be thankful for the wine.
So what are you thankful for?
Oh for this Thanksgiving, I would say I'm really thankful for all these likes and followers, all of you fans and then if it weren't for you, we simply wouldn't be having this program, so couldn't have done it without you. I'm really thankful for that. And what about you James?
Oh I'm thankful for family as and food, but honestly I'm thankful for the fans as well and I would say I mostly thankful for wild turkey.

Wild turkey? Did you go out and catch a turkey this year?
If by catch, you mean buy a bottle of it on Jindong.
So wild turkey is a drink.
It's a whiskey.
It's a Bourbon whiskey?
Yes it is. So I would have my turkey on Thanksgiving.
Finally, great. So back to what we were talking about, apart from all these food and people giving thanks, do schools do any things like play or like activities to celebrate Thanksgiving?
Oh, absolutely! Most elementary schools will do a Thanksgiving pageant where they do a retelling of the Pilgrims’ journey and the first Thanksgiving with the Wampanoag, Native Americans.
They will dress up.
Oh yes, they will dress up!
And part of them will be the pilgrims; the other half will be Native Americans.
That's right. I did that when I was a kid.
Ok. And another big element of Thanksgiving is American football.
Yeah. So Thanksgiving is a holiday. People are home from work and like many big holidays. Yes, there's a big meal; and then there's cooking a meal; and then there's waiting …
For the food to digest?
No, waiting for the food to be cooked.
Oh, waiting for the food to be cooked, yeah I guess, because I’m always the one that's doing the cooking. So there would be other people waiting.
So the national football league, they air two games on Thanksgiving Day. There are regular games, but they do a little bit more pageantry. So they ask big name stars to sing the national anthem at the beginning, or do special halftime shows in the middle of the game. So a lot of Americans will sit around and watch football while dinner is being prepared.
I always remember that, if for those of you who watched friends you would remember that Thanksgiving day special, that I believe it was a few of them, they didn't not want to help Monica with the cooking, so they pretended to be really into football. They didn't even know who's playing whom, but they were trying to shout out random names just to pretend that they're interested.
Yes.
Actually having said that, even though it's a family oriented holiday, but you do see on TV shows, a lot of friends also get together to celebrate it. Is that an actual thing?
Yes, it is. Unfortunately because of the timing of Thanksgiving, weather can be a major problem for traveling. There are places in America right now that have been hit by heavy snow.
So you can't go anywhere.
Some people can't get anywhere. And so it is not uncommon for people who can't get home to make their own families. So they invite their friends and they get together, and have a friends' Thanksgiving.
The whole idea is you should not be alone on Thanksgiving.
Right! It's a family holiday. And if you can't be with your family, well, you can always try to make your own family.
That's a very nice idea. But having said family, it's not all peace and joy. There are also a lot of family troubles, fights, especially for family members who haven't seen each other throughout the year, they get together, things could …
Get heated.
Get heated, that's what I was gonna say because it happens around Chinese New Year, family drama, is that the same in the United States?
I think that's the same anywhere in the world. You get family together after a long time. Everyone's happy to see each other. But not everyone has the same ideas or opinions, and sometimes discussions might get a little heated. So in America this time of year, if you look at a lot of gossip blogs or gossip websites, they'll have articles about things to do to prepare to talk to your uncle who disagrees with you or stuff like that.
It's like how to guide to survive Thanksgiving with your family.
What should you do when you bring your boyfriend or girlfriend to your first family Thanksgiving？Yeah, that is very much a thing.
Another question though, because in china we have this whole thing about Chinese new year, especially when you're married, especially when you have kids, which family do you go to? Do you go back to your parents or your husband or your wife's parents? Is that also a thing in the United States?
It does happen. Um most people just make a trade off. So, I mean in four weeks it'll be Christmas. So some people just go Thanksgiving at your parents, Christmas at my parents, done.
Problem solved. All right, so that was all about Thanksgiving. But before we finish this show I would like to talk about what's gonna happen the day after which you call Black Friday. It sounds really dark, but it's a shopping thing, isn't it?
It's called black Friday because it's an accounting thing. In accounting, black ink means you are making a profit.
Oh that's what … I thought it was religious. So that was purely for profit, Black Friday that's the beginning of the Christmas shopping season as …
So, how it goes Black Friday, it's a spectacle I would say.
Is it a bit like our single's day sales?
Well, it is in the sense that they're both shopping related. But singles day in China is completely online. You mean people wait up all night to get those deals on Taobao, okay, but Black Friday is in stores, you go and wait in line outside the stores all night and you go in the stores when they open very early.
And then fight other people tooth and nail just to get what you want.
Not usually, but yeah it can be quite chaotic. So people will go there to the store openings when the stores open at 4am.
And it's cold!
Uh well, not everywhere, but most places it is. And most people wonder why, usually these stores will give out deals, things we call door busters which these are like the time sensitive deals.
Like time limited sales and stuff.
So between 4am to 5pm, this will be heavily discounted, but they also have giveaways, like the first fifty shoppers will get a free or something and things like this to get people to come.
Yeah. I mean it's chaotic enough online. I really cannot imagine what it is like in real, if you're really doing like close physical contact with other shoppers.
In my hometown, it's not that bad, but I’m from a small town, so there's not that many people; but in cities, it'll be crowded, some people are impatient and are pushy, fights do happen. There's always news reports every year about someone having their things stolen or fights, and on a rare occasion, stabbings or shootings.
Why, just for a deal?
Yeah, just so they can buy a cheaper TV.
Wow!
It is ridiculous.
But nowadays with the online shopping getting gaining in popularity, these online, I mean, these e-commerce sites, they're not going to let this big opportunity slip away?
No, there's another shopping day we call Cyber Monday, which Cyber Monday is like Double Eleven.
So Cyber Monday is like next Monday.
It's the big online shopping day.
This is like the online version of Black Friday. So guys, if you're interested in buying things that are shipped from United States, maybe use that as an opportunity Cyber Monday.
Technically remember in china it would be Cyber Tuesday because of the time difference.
True, true. Okay. I guess that wraps up today's Thanksgiving Day special. So I hope that you have your turkey and have a very happy Thanksgiving James.
Happy Thanksgiving, Lulu.
We'll see you next time.
Bye everyone.
Bye.

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