American Thanksgiving in France – Ordering a Turkey and Celebrating ‘Merci Donnant’

When I was living in Paris in the early 1990s long before American Thanksgiving in France had become trendy, I remember opening the pages of the International Herald Tribune* on my first Thanksgiving Thursday in la Capitale. As I flipped through, a particular column caught my eye: “Merci Donnant.” Now, anyone who can speak French knows immediately that ‘merci donnant’ – literally ‘thanks’ and ‘giving’ – does not exist in the Gallic language. Intrigued, I read on.

Thanksgiving season in the French countryside in Courances. Photo: Eric Sander

Now, mind you, Paris in this era (a fabulous time to be there) was a place where things like cranberries, sweet potatoes, canned pumpkin, pecans, cornbread and the like were difficult to come by. France was still just too (wonderfully) French. If you had access to an American PX store or had friends coming over from the States, you could simulate Thanksgiving well enough. Or you could go to Fauchon at Place de la Madeleine or later on to The Real McCoy in the 7th arrondissement to get a few fixings. But then there was the issue of the turkey.

Nowadays, my husband and I regularly get good turkey breasts and legs from our local French grocery store near Courances in the countryside near Paris. Buying an entire dinde is still a whole other story, however. We have to go to the local boucherie at least a week or two in advance and talk them into special ordering a turkey straight from a farm. Oddly enough with all the other volailles (poultry) in the French culinary repertoire, getting a whole turkey is not a straightforward proposition most of the year since French dindes are primarily a Christmas and New Year’s dinner feature. In November at the butcher, much discussion is involved and then there’s the price. Whole turkeys in France ne sont pas une bonne affaire (are fairly pricey). If only the Paris Costco (yes, Costco!) were closer to us. In any case, the American holiday of Thanksgiving has followed Halloween into the French mentality and has become quite hip. Just this week, I got a recipe in French in my inbox from a French women’s magazine on how to cook a turkey and sides. And several restaurants in Paris are offering Thanksgiving meals to go since the city is still under lockdown on Thursday. The Thanksgiving 2020 ardoise below comes thanks to Café Varenne in my old Paris neighborhood of the 7th arrondissement.

But back to ‘le Jour de Merci Donnant.’ American humorist and journalist Art Buchwald who lived in Paris after WWII until the early 1960s first wrote the piece in 1952 in an attempt to explain Thankgiving to French people. In reality, the article was a spoof for Americans who love France and the French language. Buchwald teases hilarious words and phrases out of French to explain this particularly American and somewhat improbable holiday to great effect. (If you’ve ever heard American comedian David Sedaris’ routine on describing Easter to his Moroccan classmate at French language school in Paris, you’ll understand get the idea. Click here for a short audio clip of this Franco-American classic.) In case you have not yet come across Buchwald’s Thanksgiving linguistic feast, see the excerpt below from the Washington Post (full text provided at the link). Honestly, how could anyone ever come up with ‘Kilometres Deboutish’ for Miles Standish?! Funnily enough, he makes no mention of how the French actually pronounce ‘Thanksgiving’ which tends to be a challenge since the English sound ‘th’ said with the tongue between the front teeth does not exist in French. Usually it comes out as ‘tanksgiving’ or ‘sanksgiving’!

By Art Buchwald

While Paris has changed a lot since Buchwald’s time (and even since the 1990s) and sensibilities have changed with regard to some of his expressions, the author’s wit and humor still shine through. Un grand merci to Art Buchwald for this Thanksgiving gift that keeps on giving. Merci for reading our newsletter, and I wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday wherever you are!

*The International Herald Tribune (IHT) started as the Paris Herald in 1887 serving as the European edition of the New York Herald. In 1924, it became the Paris Herald Tribune, the international version of the New York Herald Tribune, which evolved into the IHT in 1967 with the Washington Post and New York Times as joint owners. French cinema fans will remember actor Jean Seberg in New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (A Bout de Souffle, 1960) famously selling the NY Herald Tribune while walking down the Champs-Elysées with Jean-Paul Belmondo (click here for a great clip of this scene). October of 2013 saw the last edition of the IHT with the current iteration known as The New York Times International Edition. Today, I miss the IHT and its more European touch – Paris just isn’t the same without it!