Celebrating Thanksgiving 2023 in Scotland 

By Wendy Boyd

Editors’ Note: Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving nearly two months earlier than their southern neighbors in the US – this year it was Oct 9 for Canada and Nov 23 for the USA. We asked a few North American women living abroad what the Thanksgiving holiday means to them, now that they live on a different continent. Here is what our sister Wendy Lynn Boyd had to say: 

WTI: Where do you live and why do you live there? 

I live in Edinburgh, Scotland, because this is where I found my husband! He is a devoted Scot, and Edinburgh and Scotland are absolutely beautiful. Edinburgh is a great place to live and bring up a family, and I feel very blessed to live here.

Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? If so, why? 

My husband and I celebrate Thanksgiving most years. It’s generally an excuse to have people over for a nice meal, especially any stray Americans in the neighbourhood or at church who might need a taste of home. 

What do you usually do to celebrate Thanksgiving? 

The main thing is the meal and having people over. Often we will go around the table and share what we are grateful for. We do a turkey crown, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and potatoes and veg. The challenge can be getting a turkey because most turkeys are being prepped for Christmas! Fortunately, at our local farmers’ market there is a farmer who caters to the American ex-pat community, and we order something from her in advance. Cranberries are also hard to find, they are mainly just frozen and available at the bigger, more upscale supermarkets. And sometimes we do a pumpkin pie made from the insides of our Halloween pumpkins!

What does Thanksgiving mean to you?

Thanksgiving for me is a time to remember to focus on the good in my life, the ways God has blessed me, rather than just asking for things or dwelling on the problems. It is also a lovely opportunity to share the warmth of God’s love and our family with other people through an evening of hospitality. 

What are you thanking God for this Thanksgiving 2023? 

This year I am grateful for God giving me new hope and direction in my life and allowing me to reduce my work week so that I can look after my mental health and personal wellbeing. I am also grateful for the ways He is moving to bring healing to a range of relationships among people I know. As always, I am grateful for my gorgeous children and husband, a blessing I never want to take for granted. 

A Crazy Thanksgiving Story

In 2021 on Thanksgiving, I was en route to the grocery store when my phone rang. My older son was away on a residential school trip. He had been sick in the night, and the teacher had called to ask permission to test him for COVID -- just as a “formality.” But of course – when the test came back, he had it! They asked if I could come and collect him, but we don’t have a car, and it was a four-to-five-hour drive away in the middle of a forest. Since it was a state school, they were obliged to arrange a taxi to take me there and back, which cost them £525 (around $640)! And in the meantime, my husband had to prepare and host Thanksgiving dinner without me (thankfully he’s a former chef and was cooking anyway). He kindly saved me a plate of food for when we returned around 9pm. Although I missed the dinner, I was grateful to have my boy safe at home. He got well soon, and miraculously none of us got it from him. It turned out a lot of his classmates were also positive but had no symptoms, so if my son hadn’t been ill, no-one would have known!

Born and raised in Los Angeles, I studied languages and became a disciple on my Junior Year Abroad in Berlin, Germany. After a semester in Moscow, I finished my undergrad degree in Vermont, then went on the mission team to Slovakia. Thereafter I moved back to Berlin and studied music and English education while enjoying a full life with the campus ministry. In 2005 I went to Edinburgh to do a one-year master’s degree in Medieval Studies, but then I fell in love with a handsome Scot and decided to move there. We married a year later and have two beautiful boys, now aged 13 and 10. I am a German teacher at a local school and co-lead the Edinburgh Church of Christ.