Thanksgiving in Old Shanghai
A service of Thanksgiving. A big turkey dinner, with all the trimmings. A hotly contested football classic. It all sounds very traditional, very American, and so it was: except that this was how Thanksgiving was celebrated by Shanghai’s American community in the 1930s.
Thanksgiving Service at Holy Trinity
Left: Holy Trinity Cathedral, where Thanksgiving services were held; Right: the Thanksgiving program (1935)
In 1935, the Thanksgiving service at Holy Trinity Cathedral, decorated by the American Women’s Club, was presided over by the U.S. Consul-General, Edwin Cunningham. President Franklin Roosevelt’s Thanksgiving proclamation was read by Judge Milton Purdy of the U.S. Court for China. A choir lifted their voices, and Maestro Mario Paci conducted the Shanghai Municipal Orchestra, and then it was off to “Turkey Tiffin”.
Thanksgiving Tiffin
Left: The Foreign YMCA
Some families cooked and hosted Thanksgiving dinners, but restaurants and cabarets also offered Thanksgiving menus. At the Foreign YMCA on Bubbling Well Road (Nanjing West Road) and the Navy Y on Sichan Road, huge Thanksgiving dinners were held, attended by a consular official, “just to let the boys feel that someone is looking out for them and has their interests at heart.”
But the dinner that everyone was most envious of was the one the U.S. servicemen in Shanghai were treated to: on board the USS Pittsburgh, the sailors dined on cream of tomato soup, roast turkey with oyster dressing and gravy, mashed potatoes, asparagus with butter sauce, baked spiced ham, celery, lettuce, olives, oranges, apples, mixed nuts, ice cream, cake, mince pie, and coffee. “Novel menus were prepared as souvenirs and as proof to the family at home that Thanksgiving in China is not as bad as it might be.”
In 1933, The China Press, the city’s American-owned newspaper, offered a typical Thanksgiving menu, explaining that “to be really authentic, turkey should form the center of the menu, filled with “stuffing”, rich in sage, onions, chestnuts, or oysters. Then of course, there should be cranberry jelly, sweet and Irish potatoes, a green vegetable, a salad and a final touch – mince or pumpkin pie.”
Thanksgiving Football Game: Shanghai Civilians vs U.S. Fourth Marines
Left: The Champs de Courses at the Canidrome, where the annual Gridiron Classic was played (photo: Virtual Shanghai)
No lingering over Thanksgiving dinner, though: at 2.30pm (sharp!) Shanghai headed over to the Canidrome—yes, the greyhound racing track—for the much-anticipated “gridiron classic”. The Fourth Marine band performed, and there were enthusiastic cheering sections for each side—including hundreds of Shanghai American School students (cheering for the civilans). The Marines routinely routed the Civilians (who clearly needed to come up with a better name), taking home the covered Cunningham Cup, named for the US Consul-General.
Thanksgiving After Parties
Cabarets “from Hongkew to Rue Chu Pao San (Blood Alley)” were decorated for Thanksgiving, and the China Press reported that there would be special entertainment for sailor patrons on Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day, adding, “needless to say there will be a hot time in the old town on those nights”.
REFERENCES:
Americans Ready for “Turkey Day”. (1930, November 30). The China Press.
Thanksgiving Day in Shanghai. (1930, December 2). The North-China Herald and Supreme Court & Consular Gazette.
Shanghai Americans Will Join Homeland in Fiesta. (1931, November 26). The China Press.
Marines, Civilians Clash in Thanksgiving Game Today. (1932, November 24), The China Press.
Traditional Turkey is Bird for Thanksgiving Day Dinner. (1933, November 28). The China Press.
Turkey to Rule the Roost Here Today. (1935, November 28). The China Press.