U.S.-based Guyanese have many reasons to be grateful

TIMES INT'L

By Vishnu Bisram 

Last weekend, Guyanese observed the traditional American Thanksgiving Day with family reunions, church services, feasts, and charitable offerings. Of course Guyanese have many reasons to give thanks.

Since their arrival in the U.S., Guyanese have been attaining high levels of achievement in various fields of endeavour. They are very thankful for their presence and their successes since they came to the U.S. and as such, share a bit of their wealth every year with the less fortunate.

Guyanese see Thanksgiving as an occasion for family reunion and big joyous dinners. And relatives normally take turn hosting dinner over a four-day period from Thursday to Sunday. The thanksgiving dinner normally includes baked or roasted turkey, pumpkin pie, baked sweet yams, corn, cranberry jelly, and salad (including sugar beets) with wine and other hard liquor.

Guyanese normally supplement the meals with their own traditional ethnic dishes including dhal puri, pachounie, phulourie, bara, fried rice, chowmein, and fried channa as snacks. There is always a plentiful supply of mauby and sorrel for the children.

For desert, there is Black cake, pumkin pie, sweet potato pie, ramalai, gulan jamoon, etc. Also it is not unusual for Guyanese to substitute the turkey with duck, chicken, ham, mutton, or goat.

Thanksgiving Day is a historical celebration in the U.S dating back to the 1600s since the early settlement of North America. It is also a national holiday and is observed on the fourth Thursday of every November with businesses and schools being closed for an extended weekend.

Guyanese-Americans have many reasons to give thanks to America- a country that welcomed them during the difficult authoritarian years of Burnham’s dictatorship. For the most part, they have “made it” in America and have been enjoying a higher standard of living here than in Guyana with many owning their own homes, cars and other assets.

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