Rockin’ English Traditional Thanksgiving Hand Turkeys

Holiday’s often present good opportunities for us to experience the local traditions of our host country, and sometimes we get to return the favor. Thanksgiving is one of those times — a uniquely American holiday that everyone has heard about, but not too many Bulgarians get the opportunity to experience in a traditional American way.

Remember those hand Turkeys we all made in grade school art class? You know, the one’s you started by tracing your hand on a piece of paper, then turned into a strutting turkey, complete with colorful finger feathers?

This year we decided to add them as a craft in one of our Rockin’ English clubs, and the kids LOVED it. Some understood immediately what we were trying to achieve, and made beautiful, colorful turkeys. Others weren’t so sure, but plugged away anyhow until something like a turkey took shape. Our team helped get the tracing right and pitched in to make sure it was fun for everybody.

Each child took home a hand turkey to share with their families, and could boast of taking part in a typical school aged ritual of American Thanksgiving culture.

Sometimes the things we do seem to have little direct relevance to sharing our Christian faith, but it is precisely these small gestures that open doors for us to form deeper friendships with families we meet. At the very least it gave us something to talk about the next time we run into parents on the street.

Can you think of other Thanksgiving holiday traditions that would be fun to share with school aged kids?

Please share them in the comments section below.

Here is an English / Bulgarian Thanksgiving-themed word list to share with friends and family:

• Thanksgiving / Денят на благодарността

• turkey / пуйка

• stuffing / пълнеж

• cranberry sauce / сос от червени боровинки

• mashed potatoes / картофено пюре

• sweet potatoes / сладки картофи

• green bean casserole / гювеч от зелен фасул

• pumpkin pie / тиквен пай