Thanksgiving Dinner
It´s a Thursday evening and the AUBG canteen has already prepared for one of the most spectacular events at the university. All the tables are nicely tided and everything on them is arranged in detail. It’s like a wizard has done all this masterpiece. It smells of pumpkins and apples, and it feels cozy like a family gathering at home for dinner. It’s Thanksgiving.
Even though Thanksgiving is not a Bulgarian but an American holiday, AUBG hosts its celebration every year. There are many foreign professors and students, who want to spend time together during this evening.
Angelina Nikolova, 62 years old, head chef of the canteen, says that her favorite and most difficult to prepare meal was the pumpkin pie. She has spent the last 25 years working at AUBG canteen. Cooking has made her feel great ever since she was a child. “This passion started when I was five years old. I had to cook for myself because my mother was always busy, working on the tobacco fields.” When it comes to cooking, she is most keen on bakery. Angelina has learned everything about it from her grandmother. “Although we had to prepare over 30 pumpkin pies today, which is a tough and very time-consuming process, I enjoyed it,” she says.
She learned more about Thanksgiving from her son and daughter-in-law, who live in the USA. When they came to Bulgaria, the whole family decided to organize a Thanksgiving dinner. “I was amazed by the way that all members of my family thanked each other. It felt so good knowing that you are appreciated,” Angelina says.
Even though, Angelina likes the idea of this event, she thinks that Thanksgiving will always be a traditional American holiday and should not be celebrated in Bulgaria. “What is meant to be American, should stay in America and what is Bulgarian, should be in Bulgaria,” she says.
Angelina has not only put all her efforts into preparing everything on time, but has also taken care of the table decorations. She brought apples and pomegranates from her own garden. “For me it’s an honor to give a small part of me, so that everything can look perfect.”
Olga Draganova, head of dining services, says that the staff worked hard to make sure that the atmosphere is cozy and pleasant, that the food is well-made, and that each one of the guests feels fantastic.
“I don’t see anything bad in celebrating a holiday which is not traditional for our country. The whole idea of it is related to being good. The world has a huge deficit of goodness nowadays,” she says. “We all need a pinch of happiness.”
The turkey and casserole are served in one big plate, instead of being separated in portions. This is one of the leading ideas of this dinner — everything needs to be shared. “We have a great experience with organizing events like this, this one will not be an exception,” says Olga Draganova.
A nice and cheerful music is already playing in the background and the staff is making final changes of the decoration. People start coming. After the speech of AUBG’s president Dr. David Evans, all the students and the professors raise their glasses in a toast.
“It’s really sad that we don’t celebrate this holiday in Bulgaria,” says 20-year-old Kaloyan Nikolov, who decided to accompany one of AUBG’s students to the dinner. “As a Bulgarian, I could point out that most of the people in my country would be negative towards it, the way they are towards Halloween.” Although he would not celebrate this day, he likes the idea of becoming more self-aware and taking time to appreciate his achievements and the ones who have supported him along the way.
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Victoria Apostolova is a sophomore student at AUBG, majoring in Journalism and Business Administration. She loves writing and would celebrate Thanksgiving with her future family.
