Season 2, Episode 10 - Des hommes et des dieux "Of Gods and Men" (Algeria)

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During this week of Thanksgiving, we are grateful to learn so much this episode, really, especially for a holiday week. We are spending our Black Friday just basking in these hard truths. After a vain search for a Colonial Christmas movie, we really learned what the Pilgrims thought about Yuletime festivities – that they should be banned. Instead, we decide to travel to another area that is equally unfriendly to our favorite holiday, just to learn how initial appearances can be deceiving. We visit Algeria, located in North Africa, a place that offers us a true story on film, with thoughtful resonance and emotional impact. It is a real-life event that challenges perceptions about religion, sacrifice, and obligation. What does it mean to have deep faith and to be tested with your life? How strong is your belief and your convictions? These are the weighty questions that we still contemplate while dining on turkey and stuffing.

We embrace the diverse challenges posed by a place with remarkable beauty, a sprawling desert, and a powerful ethnic heritage. Despite the heartache of the film and its true-life events, it does offer hope and joy, but it also poses a question of what it means to be festive. Unlike many of the other countries that we visit, Christmas is a private event for the small Christian minority in Algeria and the challenges they face. And yet, since we were concerned, they are still able to celebrate with delicious delicacies like bourek with creamy bechamel sauce, cinnamon and butter topped Tamina, and a basket of dates, dried figs, and nuts. At least some things are the same wherever you go. Yum!

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