GAU Tbilisi Celebrates Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday in the US and Canada, was originally celebrated as a day to give thanks for the blessing of the harvest and for the preceding year. It was also marked this year in Tbilisi, at GAU- the Georgian-American University, on November 22.

In spite of the bitter cold weather, students warmed themselves with gluhwein while the GAU band created a most vibrant atmosphere, singing covers of American songs.

“We are celebrating the American Thanksgiving Day to share our traditions with our students,” Michael Cowgill, President of GAU, told GEORGIA TODAY before the occasion kicked off.

Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has also long been celebrated in a secular manner as prayers of thanks and special thanksgiving ceremonies are common among almost all religions after harvests. The history of the Thanksgiving holiday in North America is rooted in English traditions dating from the Protestant Reformation. It also has aspects of a harvest festival, even though the harvest in New England, where the North American holiday originates, occurs well before the late-November date on which the modern Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated.

Tinatin Beridze, GAU freshman, told GEORGIA TODAY: “I am happy that such events are held often at GAU. I don’t know any other university in Tbilisi with such an active schedule of events. It’s an added stimulus and makes the whole learning process much more positive and constructive.”

Maka Lomadze