Nonresident Senior Fellow Richard LeBaron writes for the Huffington Post on Thanksgiving and diplomacy:
After thirty plus years as an American diplomat, there are a few techniques one remembers as always being effective in engaging foreigners – that being the essential job of diplomats. Inviting foreign guests to Thanksgiving dinner is certainly one of the most reliable and enjoyable invitations that our representatives abroad have in their diplomatic toolbox. Although it isn’t always a simple task to assemble the proper ingredients, every November American culinary ingenuity goes into high gear around the world to produce a credible version of this venerable feast. Ambassadors and senior officers at our missions abroad will often invite 30-50 people for Thanksgiving while junior staff (with smaller kitchens) might invite a half dozen of their close contacts. And despite Thanksgiving being a uniquely North American holiday, (Canada too), the acceptance rate for these invitations often hits a hundred percent.
In fact, people are eager to come to Thanksgiving dinner precisely because it is unique to our culture. And it resonates with other cultures easily. How can one miss with these key ingredients: