A Very (International) Canadian Thanksgiving

When I first moved to Toronto, I had a very hard time accepting Canadian Thanksgiving as a proper holiday. Thanksgiving in October? Ridiculous. This past weekend, however, it was a very welcome celebration hosted by our Canadian friend Erik.

Erik in the kitchen

It was a communal effort to bring this feast to the table - complete with lots of wine, and lots of laughter. Christian top and tailed several kilos of green beans, Didz halved the brussel sprouts and chopped onions, Kirsten prepared fabulous hors d'oeuvres, I prepared the stuffing - and Erik did an incredible job pulling it all together with a couple of roasted chickens (since turkey is impossible to find in this country).

Mushrooms, mashed potatoes, green beans

The rest of the guests gathered, the wine was flowing freely, and appetites were awakened by all the wonderful Thanksgiving smells wafting through the apartment.

When the food was ready, our gracious host invited everyone to share what they were thankful for - new friends, our families back home, this wonderful feast....

We ate, we shared stories, we continued to cultivate friendships with our Mexican, German, Belgian, British, and Canadian friends. The evening progressed into morning without us even noticing the hours drift away.

Sometime in the middle of the evening I had a moment of quiet appreciation - thankful for the incredible people we've met, for the opportunity to live here, and for a seriously awesome Belgian Thanksgiving.

Maybe I'll have to host the *real* one in November and appreciate it all over again...