Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

Thanksgiving Feast

My idea of a Thanksgiving dinner is somewhat lacking I’m afraid as it’s not something we celebrate in Australia. I imagine it to be something like a Christmas dinner, but without the tree, the gifts and the fat guy in red – a historical occasion rather than a religious remembrance. I think of turkeys and cranberry sauce, and I’ve heard that that was the chosen feast, because that was all there was- a few scrawny turkeys and some berries on the bushes.
In Australia we celebrate Australia Day on 26 January. This was the date of the first European settlement in Sydney Cove in 1788. It has also been called Invasion Day by the Australian aborigines. Traditionally Australia Day is celebrated with Billy Tea and damper. Water for tea is boiled in a billy can over an open fire. When the water boils tea leaves are added and to do it properly the billy is whirled around the head (the centrifical force keeps the water in) to mix and help infuse the tea. This is not advisable for the inexperienced. Damper was originally a simple form of bread made with flour, soda and salt, which was baked in the fire.
People in the twenty first century celebrate this day in many different ways, but we don’t generally whirl boiling water round our heads. Once is enough for most families. And we bake or buy our damper before the outing if we wish to avoid gritty ashy bread with soggy uncooked dough in the centre. January is one of our hottest months, so the day does often includes a family picnic or barbeque at a beach or a park.
Oh yes, my final gem of knowledge – a Thanksgiving riddle:-
When do turkeys celebrate Thanksgiving Day? On the day after Thanksgiving.

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