Thanksgiving Around the World

A Message of Gratitude from the Brain Drain Team

At Brain Drain Unlimited we like to say that Thanksgiving is a very American holiday with a very universal story. In our Meet Your New Neighbors (MTN) livestream we described it as a day that grew out of hardship, survival, and shared harvest in the early colonial period, then became a national holiday during the Civil War when President Lincoln asked a divided country to pause and give thanks. It is not tied to a church or a political party. It is simply a day to say, “We made it through another hard year. We are still here. We are grateful.”

For immigrants, refugees, and displaced professionals, that story feels familiar. The first Thanksgiving is often told as a shared meal between newcomers who struggled to grow food in a harsh climate and Native communities who helped them survive. In our work with skilled immigrants and global talent, we see similar patterns. People leave home, endure the journey, lean on community, and slowly rebuild a life that can once again include good food, laughter, and long conversations around a table.

This year our team is scattered across time zones and traditions. Some of us grew up with turkey, parades, and American football on in the background. Others grew up with Soviet harvest observances, a “Holiday of the Field,” or no fall holiday at all. For our first Brain Drain Thanksgiving we sent a short survey to the team and held a live discussion about what this season means in different cultures.

At the heart of that conversation is a reflection from our colleague, writer and translator Maria Osep’yants, who was born and raised in Russia. Her essay, shared below, explores Russian harvest festivals, similar holidays around the world, and what Thanksgiving looks like from the outside.

Searching for Thanksgiving Equivalents in Russia

The Day Before Thanksgiving: Reflections on Similar Holidays in Russia and Other Countries
By Maria Osep’yants

As Thanksgiving approaches in the United States, I found myself pondering whether there is a similar or at least somewhat comparable holiday in my homeland, Russia. The answer is not as straightforward as it may seem at first glance.

Three Spas

At first glance, one might think there is nothing to consider, there is no such holiday in Russia. I could not recall one, and when I asked fellow Russians, they too could not remember anything similar. However, upon delving deeper into the topic, I discovered that there are indeed distantly related holidays, three of them, to be precise. They are called Honey Spas, Apple Spas, and Bread (or Nut) Spas. These holidays are celebrated in August.

“Spas” is a shortening of the Russian word for “Spasitel.” This is how Jesus Christ is often referred to in Russia. The holidays hold religious significance but are also tied to the harvest season. For instance, the history of Honey Spas dates back even before the Christianization of Rus and originally had pagan roots. Today, people do not often like to remember this.

Each of the three Spas has its own traditional treats. Honey Spas involves baked goods made with honey. Apple Spas features apple jam and pies filled with apples. Meanwhile, for Nut Spas, according to tradition, a tincture made from walnut partitions was prepared. My husband once made such a tincture, and I had the chance to try it, though if I remember correctly, it was not in August.

There is one problem with all three of these holidays. In modern Russia, which has gone through 70 years of Soviet rule and atheism, these ancient Russian celebrations are not widely observed. Nevertheless, they are not completely forgotten. Some people even celebrate them, though they are few.

A Purely American Tradition

In contemporary Russia, many foreign holidays have taken root and are celebrated joyfully. Among them are Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Halloween. But Thanksgiving is not on this list. No one in Russia thinks to celebrate this day. Why? The answer is simple. This holiday is closely tied to the history of the United States, which makes it difficult for Russians to associate it with themselves, unlike many other American holidays.

Of course, the three Spas can only loosely be considered an equivalent to Thanksgiving. Some Russians do wish that there was a Thanksgiving in Russia, as an annual expression of gratitude is a wonderful tradition.

However, no one stops us from expressing gratitude to God and people every day if we choose to do so.

Similar Holidays in Other Countries

I could say a few more words about the equivalents of Thanksgiving in other countries. Of course, I can mainly learn about this from the internet. Among the analogs are Germany’s Erntedankfest, Africa’s Homowo, and many others. Naturally, all parallels here are approximate.

Perhaps the most unusual parallel to Thanksgiving would be Mexico’s Day of the Dead (El Día de Muertos). Some believe that there is a certain conceptual resonance between these two seemingly dissimilar holidays. It may seem that there is little in common between stuffed turkey and chocolate skulls. But that is just an appearance. In reality, people around the world are very similar and often celebrate roughly the same things, even when the external aspects of the celebrations differ radically.

From Our Team: Around the Thanksgiving Table

To close our first Brain Drain Thanksgiving, we went around the virtual table and asked our team what this season feels like for them, what they eat, and what they are most grateful for right now. The answers show how Thanksgiving traditions around the world can still lead to one shared feeling: belonging.

Eric grew up in a small extended family on the Great Plains, where Thanksgiving meant driving through unpredictable Dakota weather to his grandmother’s house. The table held the classic turkey and ham, mashed potatoes, pickled beets, and the Norwegian staples of lefse and krumkake. Football games, especially if the Vikings were playing, were part of the soundtrack. Today he is grateful for health, a mostly sane mind, and a long list of everyday blessings. One year ago he saw a message from Manus and Konstantin, sent a small donation and an offer to help, and had no idea it would become this team. He is thankful for new friends around the world and for the chance to do a little good together.

Manus describes Thanksgiving as his most important holiday. As the ninth of ten children, he remembers his mother cooking furiously for ten to twenty people, the competition for the turkey legs, and the family game of guessing which dish she forgot to bring out of the kitchen. Apple pie still has his heart. As a student he once played “the great airport scam,” giving up a Thanksgiving flight for cash and a future ticket that paid for a beach trip. Today he is grateful that, for all its problems, the United States still gives people the freedom and tools to improve their lives. Brain Drain’s work, he says, replaces childhood stories about “hungry children somewhere far away” with real faces and real stories, and deepens his sense of responsibility to help.

Alexandra did not grow up with Thanksgiving. Raised in big cities in the former USSR, she only saw hints of harvest celebrations in her children’s schools. Her image of the holiday comes from American films and from watching her daughters celebrate it in the United States. For her, Thanksgiving means a turkey on the table, family gathered together, and the story of the first settlers. She smiles at the elaborate American ways of cooking turkey, from injecting marinades with a syringe to deep frying the whole bird. This season feels very cozy. She is thankful for her family’s health, a warm autumn, good friends, and the chance to do work she loves. At Brain Drain she values the friendly, supportive atmosphere and the opportunity to make the world a little better, and she still wonders how accurate those Hollywood Thanksgiving scenes really are.

Natalia comes from a region where the main fall celebration is the “Holiday of the Field,” a mix of harvest festival and agricultural exhibition. For her, the season tastes like pumpkin, persimmons, and autumn apples. This Thanksgiving time feels mostly cozy as well. She is grateful for her beautiful life, her children, her home, and the simple fact of safety. She is especially thankful for the opportunity to work with the Brain Drain team, to discover how things work in the United States, and to share fun and joy in the middle of serious work. Her question for our first Brain Drain Thanksgiving was simple and very on brand for this year. How do we keep believing in this crazy world?

Four people, four different histories, one shared table. That is the promise of Thanksgiving at Brain Drain.

Welcoming Global Talent, One Story at a Time

For many of the genuinely remarkable and unstoppable minds we serve, the journey to the United States is long and uncertain. Holidays like Thanksgiving can feel both strange and familiar. They are new in form, yet deeply known in spirit. Whether you grew up with Honey Spas, a Holiday of the Field, Erntedankfest, or no harvest festival at all, there is always a moment in the year when people gather, count what they have, and say “thank you.”

At Brain Drain Unlimited we believe that welcoming skilled immigrants does more than fill talent gaps. It enriches holidays, neighborhoods, and institutions with new memories and new traditions. If you would like to help displaced professionals rebuild their careers and put their skills to work in the United States, we invite you to get involved.

Help global talent find a new season of belonging.