Last week marked my third Italian Thanksgiving. Of course there really is no Italian Thanksgiving tradition, so perhaps it is better to say that this was my third Thanksgiving since moving to Lucca, Italy in December of 2018. And what interesting holidays they have been!

My first “Turkey Day” celebration here in 2019 was a large gathering of friends, nestled close around a beautifully set table, eating roasted turkey breast with all the traditional trimmings. The common thread in our giving of thanks was that we were all thrilled to be living in Italy and to have found a community of like-minded people who were well on their way to becoming our own little Italian family. The future was full of plans for adventure, travel, group outings, language classes, and figuring out Italian bureaucracy together.

How very different the next year was. Thanksgiving 2020 came in the midst of the world-wide pandemic. Italy was hit hard and by last November many things had come to a standstill, including holiday celebrations. The restrictions in place prevented large gatherings, with a max of two or three unrelated persons allowed to be inside one’s home. How to possibly celebrate with all the tragedy surrounding us? How to choose just one or two friends to invite to even a scaled down dinner? The answer seemed to be to spread out Thanksgiving by visiting one friend at a time, ideally outdoors, one friend each day over the long holiday weekend. We replaced big traditional dinners with brief get togethers over coffee or a walk on the wall. On that Thanksgiving day I had a minimalist dinner with one friend and a roast chicken. Still, we were thankful to be healthy, to be living in Italy where the community faced hardship together, and for being allowed some small freedoms after the much tougher lockdown of previous months. We focused on the many large and small things to appreciate - family, friends, beautiful vistas, the smell of coffee, music, Netflix movies, sunshine, the sound of church bells, a safe place to live, dogs. A renewed awareness of these things may be the one blessing to come from the pandemic.

And now here we are in 2021. In Italy, COVID is in fairly good control, although the threat remains and the winter season is seeing large increases in the surrounding countries of Germany, Austria, and most of Eastern Europe. Not to mention the latest variant rearing its ugly head! There have also been modest, though still worrisome, increases in parts of Italy. But this November we are not restricted. We move about freely, shops and restaurants are open, and we have even been able to travel for pure pleasure. That is something very near the top of my thankful list! Masks are mandatory when inside shops or public venues, hand washing, and targeted social distancing remain the norm. I have come to appreciate these things, as they have made it possible for us to return to a sense of normalcy (or at least the new normal, which is so much better than the far-from-normal of last November). This year we also have vaccines. Italy has, for the most part, embraced them, achieving one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe. And the EU Green Pass really does feel like a ticket to freedom. More things for which to give thanks! Vaccines and widespread testing have allowed visits from US friends, my own travel to see family in New Mexico, a lessening of anxiety (though not an abandonment of reasonable caution), and the beginnings of economic recovery. And then there is the magic of living in Italy. I still pinch myself and it is yet another reason for thankfulness.

This year we once again gathered as a group of friends, though in modest numbers and with everyone fully vaccinated. Shari, our hostess, had decorated beautifully for the holiday and created a gracious setting for us all to enjoy (the photos are mine, but the decor magic is all her’s).

We feasted on turkey and all the trimmings, each of us bringing one of our Thanksgiving favorites (apple cranberry pie and my mom’s turkey dressing for me, no small feat with my little “easy bake” oven). We drank toasts and gave thanks. We sat further apart, kept the doors open to increase air flow, and washed our hands. But without the need for masks, the smiles were there for us all to see. And how we laughed! A joyful sound.

We thought of our families and appreciated the fact that once again we can travel to visit with our children, grandchildren, and parents. I was beyond thankful for the opportunity to laugh together, to share joy, and to feel hope for the future. I was even thankful for the rain that made the day chilly and damp.

And, I am thankful for one particular (peculiar?) Thanksgiving tradition that dates back to that first gathering in 2019 - the one that sees Jedd, one of our hosts, wearing the most amazing pair of shiny, and pointy, green shoes with equally notable socks. It may not be everyone’s Thanksgiving tradition, but it is uniquely ours and I love it!

I hope you all had an equally hopeful and joyful Thanksgiving. And now … let the Christmas decorating begin.