October 10:
With Thanksgiving fast approaching, and all the little gobblers going into hiding, I thought I'd tell you a bit about my Swiss version of Thanksgiving experience. Yes, this did happen over a month ago, but I'm slow, and hey now it fits the season. :)
In Switzerland of course they don't celebrate American Thanksgiving , but they do have a holiday that is quite similar. (Mainly in the way that you do nothing but eat all day. :) ) From Mid-September to Mid-October they celebrate Bénichon, which is a holiday that signalizes the end of the harvest, and gives everyone a reason to get together and eat "tout le jour" (all day). Unlike American Thanksgiving, there isn't a set date, more each family or village decides when they will celebrate. My Swiss family had Bénichon on October 10. We all went over to my host mom's parents' house, and basically ate the farmyard (minus the horses :) ). First we had these little cakes with Moutard de Bénichon (special mustard that's very sweet, and kind of has a carmel like texture, that is made just for the Bénichon). They were amazing of course. Then we all went into the dining room to begin what everyone warned me would be the never ending meal. And it pretty much was. We had ham, sausage, lamb, potatoes- mashed and whole, green beans, beet salad (very popular here), these special candied nuts, and more. It made me think of eating at Grandma Bailey's or really any Bailey family get-together. It was all quite delicious, but my favorite part was definitely dessert. I believe I've mentioned before just how much I adore the double cream with meringue, and for dessert I think I had the best version yet. Get ready for some over the top usage of adjectives. :) The puffy little clouds of meringue were covered with thick double cream, drizzled with a thin ribbon of carmel, and then sprinkled with raspberries and blackberries. Needless to say I was in heaven. They also had a bunch of other special baked treats, that were all amazing as well. I definitely wasn't hungry for a while! To try and work all that deliciousness off; in between courses Simon and I played some soccer. So maybe that helped even out the 20 lbs I'm sure I gained that day. :)
Later that evening I went with Sophie and Julien to the little village party with the other "jeuness" (youth) from my village. We danced and had a great time; then it was back to school the next day!
And that my friends is how the Swiss celebrate Thanksgiving! :)
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