With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, I asked an American visitor and student in Ireland how they plan to mark a holiday that means everything in the United States and very little here.
For most Irish people, it will be an ordinary Thursday however for more than 225 million Americans across the Atlantic, it is a major celebration that often involves a day off work, a heavy meal and an early night before Black Friday shopping begins.
Thanksgiving takes place on the fourth Thursday of November and is rooted in early colonial history with it being commonly linked to a 1621 harvest gathering between English settlers from the Mayflower and Native Americans.
Although historians note that the reality was far more violent than the nostalgic version told in schools.
Today, the holiday is less about its origins and more about time with family, shared food and a moment to pause and to plan your shopping list for the next day.
For American student Katie Kerr, who is studying abroad in Ireland, the holiday feels very different here.
This will not be her first Thanksgiving away from home, though she admitted she was tempted to fly back.
“The biggest difference is that nobody recognises it. It is very American,” she said.
Katie does not personally believe in the traditional story behind the holiday, but she still values the idea of gratitude.
She plans to celebrate with her French housemates and tries to explain to others how the history is presented in the United States.
“We were lied to in school. They never mention the atrocities or the unkindness. We used to dress up as Native Americans before people realised how wrong that was.”
She added that studying at university helped her see how much of American history is softened or rewritten. For her, Christmas and Thanksgiving are now more about commercial family time than any historical meaning.
Black Friday follows the holiday and has grown into one of the biggest shopping days of the year in the United States as well as the rest of the world.
The tradition developed in the late twentieth century as retailers used heavy discounts to help launch the Christmas shopping season. The name originally referred to the traffic and congestion seen on the day, before becoming associated with shopping.
Although it has no cultural link to Thanksgiving, it has become an unofficial extension of the long weekend. Ireland may not celebrate Thanksgiving, but Black Friday sales are very much treasured.
I also spoke to Mark Plesnicher, a manager from Microsoft, who was visiting Ireland on a work trip. He will spend Thanksgiving back home in Washington with his family.
“I try to use it as a magnet to bring family together,” he said. “I’m not religious, so for me both Christmas and Thanksgiving are about unity and being grateful for the ability to share good food and good company.” As for Black Friday, he said the tradition has changed for him. “I do not go out anymore. We buy everything online.”
Thanksgiving may go largely unnoticed in Ireland, but for Americans abroad like Katie Kerr and Mark Plesnicher, it remains a time for gratitude, family, and connection.
While traditions evolve sometimes into online shopping the holiday continues to centre on togetherness, reflection, and the small rituals that bring people closer.
