Admit it, you’re wondering where this is going to go!
Living in an expat community like lakeside is an opportunity to celebrate with other cultures. I have previously touched on such subjects as the Day of the Dead, Cinqo de Mayo versus Mexican independence day, and even the Christmas holidays. Now let’s talk turkey.
The second Monday in October is Thanksgiving in Canada, and since we have a numerous Canadian expats here, it’s the first of two Thanksgiving holidays lakeside. Canadian Thanksgiving looks very familiar to an American: turkey and squash and pumpkin pie. That’s because many loyalists from the American revolutionary war headed north to Canada, and brought the traditional standards from the American Thanksgiving celebration with them.
However, Canadians actually have a valid claim to having originated the concept of the holiday in the Western Hemisphere. Predating the Puritan story of 1621 that Americans know so well, Samuel de Champlain celebrated a feast of thanksgiving with First Nations peoples in 1604 in Canada. According to my Canadian friends, today’s feast is full of good food, family, and even a football double-header (CFL, of course!).
So we celebrated in true multicultural fashion by going to Gosha’s restaurant, which put on a special menu for the occasion. And when I say multicultural, I mean multicultural. Gosha’s is owned by Carlos (a Mexican man from Yucatan) and his wife Gosha (from Poland). We were joined by our American friends John & Barbara, as we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile in Mexico, October is dedicated to the Virgin Mary; Catholics in the U.S. and Canada celebrate this in May. I have to admit that I prefer the Mexican date, since it coincides with college football season, where I end up saying many “Hail Marys” anyway. Mexicans celebrate with fireworks (as always), daily rosary recitals and processions. We have a special chapel dedicated to Our Lady here in Ajijic, with a small statue that is specially dressed up this month. The statue is moved from church to church with great fanfare. You can almost track its progress by the boom of the cohetes in the morning.
Right now, the statue is at San Andres, our parish. Here she is in all her finery. There are similar celebrations across the country, and Guadalajara has one of the largest. On October 12th the Virgin of Zapopan will be processed for hours from the main cathedral to her original home in the (now) suburb of Zapopan, accompanied by crowds estimated at two million!
Here is a link to a video of what that procession looks like:
It is truly a joy to learn of others’ celebrations, see their traditions, and join in them.