What is an Orphan Thanksgiving
An orphan Thanksgiving is where someone has, for whatever reason, no place to go on Thanksgiving day. The term has come about due to the widespread tradition in this country of people eating a Thanksgiving meal with other people, generally, people they are related to or are at least connected to in some way.
An orphan Thanksgiving doesn’t mean the person that has nowhere to go has no family, is homeless or is truly an orphan with no family left on Earth; instead it can apply to someone who lives far from family and can’t afford to fly home or even someone who has, in the process of driving home, become stranded and thus has no options. It can also apply to people who are estranged from family or friends, or to people who simply have not chosen to celebrate Thanksgiving as part of their life. So, in short, the term can apply to anyone who has no plans for Thanksgiving.
The term has gained usage as people expect themselves and everyone else to have somewhere to go for Thanksgiving and people to be with; which means that those that do have a place to be, find themselves extending invitations to so-called orphans, either as a gesture of kindness or because they feel guilty or because someone else goads them into it. Nonetheless, just as the Thanksgiving day meal is an annual tradition, so to is inviting Thanksgiving orphans to join you and those around you to feast and give thanks, and to watch football of course.
One of the most common kinds of Thanksgiving orphans are college students who attend school far from home and due to financial constraints or personal issues cannot or will not be heading home for the holiday. And it is due to this situation that many so-called orphans are invited to the homes of their friends and classmates.
Another common reason people find themselves a Thanksgiving orphan is divorce, especially for those that are older. Where once it was a simple matter of the family getting together for Thanksgiving, one or the other can find themselves suddenly excluded with nowhere to go. In these cases, many times it’s a co-worker or friend who comes to the rescue and invites the poor lost soul to dine at their house.
But then, there are also those poor lonely souls who don’t have a place to go, and who don’t get invited to go anywhere and then wind up eating dinner alone, or going out to a restaurant. These are the true Thanksgiving orphans, because they are the people that wish they had people to dine with, but for whatever reason, don’t, and are overlooked by everyone else.
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