As far as I've been able to tell from my experience thus far, enthusiasm for holidays like Christmas and the Fourth of July seems to wax and wane with age. Christmas follows a parabolic curve: enthusiasm is high as a youngster ("Yay, I get presents!"), dips drastically in early adulthood ("I'm too broke to buy presents this year...") and surges once again with old age ("It's so nice to see the grandkids!").

Halloween seems to follow more of a downward spiral, as the costumes and candy become less appropriate (and more creepy) as one gets older. But I, for one, have always had an unflaggingly high appreciation for that most uniquely American holiday of Thanksgiving.

The history of the holiday doesn't particularly fascinate me; recalling that the founding settlers of the United States routinely slaughtered and took advantage of the same Native Americans that (supposedly) provided them with a bountiful feast does little to encourage my appetite.

Nor do care for the myriad televised parades and football games that come with the arrival of Thanksgiving morning. Floats are fine and sports are dandy, but after a couple of hours they just become more tedious than anything else.

No, it's the food that ultimately appeals – and no other holiday celebrates gluttony in such splendid fashion. Like many of my peers, I did not have the most fantastic diet during my university years. Thanksgiving meant a three- or four-day holiday, and with it, a chance to return home and rediscover the magic of home cooking.

Of course, after coming to Beijing, all of the traditions and rules become subverted; nothing is as it was before. Stuffed turkey appears as roast duck; mashed potatoes present as doufu. And if you're like most expatriates, the idea of sitting around the table with your family is nigh-unreachable.

It seems that many expats generally give up on the holidays they once held dear once they make it over here. Halloween, Christmas and St. Patrick's Day all seem to be celebrated the same way: call friends, find bar, drink at bar, find next bar, and so on. But perhaps that says more about the recreational activities preferred by most expats than it does about any kind of holiday celebration.

This year, I decided I would have none of the above. Enlisting the cooking skills of my talented girlfriend, I elected to have a simple meal at home. It so happened that this year's Thanksgiving coincided with a close friend's birthday, so we invited him and a couple of others over to partake in our humble feast.

We decided to forgo the turkey, as it is relatively expensive and difficult to procure in Beijing. Not to mention that our kitchen, like most others in the city, is just barely large enough to accommodate a small meal, let alone a massive Thanksgiving spread. Mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce were out; tomato soup and broccoli were in.

And so, the four of us sat down at our tiny table and enjoyed a most delicious meal. There was little or no mention of Thanksgiving itself; we sat and talked, ate and drank and spent the evening in much the same fashion as any other.

It was not until I'd nearly tucked myself in for the evening that I started to actually contemplate the holiday. I haven't been in Beijing for terribly long yet; I've been lucky enough to visit my family once since I moved here. My thoughts turned to what I consider to be my "second" family: my small but closely-knit circle of friends and acquaintances that have given me much-needed guidance since my plane first landed. I've been truly lucky to get to know a group of brilliant, funny and kind individuals here in Beijing; for that, I am first and foremost thankful.

I also considered my life situation from a larger perspective. My steady job and small-but-sufficient apartment are things that a lot of folks my age have yet to acquire back in the States. Although I won't deny that it took a lot of hard work and dedication to get to where I am now, a certain measure of luck and circumstance also played a role.

Like any other expat, there are certainly days when I wonder just how and why I ended up living and working over here. But more often than not, and especially on Thanksgiving, I realize how lucky I am to have what I have and do what I do. And that is what I'm most thankful for this year.