LONDON — NYU London students celebrated Thanksgiving, even though the rest of the country does not celebrate the holiday and has already started celebrating Christmas.

Thanksgiving day, a regular day of classes at NYU London, began with a group of students heading over to the U.S. Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The service was preached by the Rev. John D’Elia, senior minister of the American Church in London, and the American Church Choir sang during the ceremony. In addition, Louis Susman, the current American ambassador to the United Kingdom, delivered an address to the congregation, and the U.S. Marine Corps provided a Color Guard.

More traditional Thanksgiving festivities ensued in the evening when students took it upon themselves to have community celebrations in the various residence halls. One of the largest took place in the Byron Court residence hall and was planned by the Liberal Studies freshman student government. Students could find homemade, American options such as turkey and apple pie.

Bianca Petcu, a LSP freshman and student government official, said the event had been in planning stages for a month.

“It was exciting, but stressful,” Petcu said. “I definitely appreciate my mother’s cooking much more now.”

American students were not the only ones to enjoy NYU London’s festivities. Nicola Benatti, an Italian student, and Godfre Bayalama, a Congolese student, were among the freshmen in the Liberal Studies Program who contributed their culinary assistance to the event.

“This holiday is really about community, and we wanted to make sure everyone was involved,” Petcu said.

While the students seemed to enjoy the event, LSP freshman Rachel Piette said celebrating in a different country was an odd experience.

“It was weird celebrating an American holiday in England,” Piette said. “Walking around London, it already feels a lot more like Christmas. I almost forgot about Thanksgiving entirely.”

Other students chose to mark the occasion by embracing one of London’s traditions — attending the Royal Ballet. LSP freshman Catherine Thorbecke joined a group of NYU London students at the Royal Opera House for the current production of Swan Lake.

“It was a very different way to celebrate Thanksgiving by seeing something so beautiful,” Thorbecke said. “I was amazed.”

Whether NYU London students went to the cathedral, the residence halls or the ballet, they came together as an American community to celebrate Thanksgiving while abroad.

Catherine Addington is a foreign correspondent. Email her at [email protected].