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Trudy Palmer
Inviting a friend or coworker to the family Thanksgiving dinner is nothing new.
You may even have heard about Wanda Dench who, six years ago, a Thanksgiving invitation to Jamal Hinton, a perfect stranger. They quickly figured out the error, but she made good on the invitation, and he accepted. The two, usually with family from both sides, have spent Thanksgiving together ever since and even have occasional get-togethers in between.
That鈥檚 truly lovely, but it鈥檚 different than Friendsgiving.
According to Merriam-Webster, the word first appeared around 2007, finally making it into the dictionary in 2020. In the intervening years, businesses sought a piece of the pie, pun intended, from Taco Bell鈥檚聽 to Betty Crocker鈥檚聽.听
But the Friendsgiving my 20-something friend Serkalem celebrates each year has nothing to do with promoting a brand. It鈥檚 also 鈥渓ess engrained in the Colonial stigma鈥� than the traditional holiday, she says.
Instead, it鈥檚 about being 鈥済rateful for your friend group,鈥� she explains. On the one hand, you鈥檙e gathering with friends before they take off for the holiday. On the other, you鈥檙e making sure those with no place to go still get a Thanksgiving-like experience, she adds.
I love that spirit of looking out for one another 鈥撀燼nd embracing others. When she arrived at her Friendsgiving feast last Sunday, Serkalem knew only a few of the people there. Not so, by the end of the night.听
鈥淭he magic of Friendsgiving,鈥� she says, 鈥渋s coming to the table and introducing yourself.鈥�
