Thursday, November 24, 2016

Thanksgiving, My Favorite Holliday


“They begane now to gather in the small harvest they had, and to fitte up their houses and dwellings against winter, being all well recovered in health & strength, and had all things in good plenty; for as some were thus imployed in affairs abroad, others were excersised in fishing, about codd & bass, & other fish, of which they tooke good store, of which every family had their portion.”   From the journal of William Bradford.

The first Thanksgiving was in October less than a year after the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth. Half of the original 102 passengers died that first winter from cold, hunger and sickness. They were ill prepared for this climate since they’d been heading for Virginia when they went off course and landed in Massachusetts.  That first Thanksgiving, they were not only thankful for those who had lived, but a bountiful harvest and many barrels of furs ready to be shipped to England. They were especially thankful for the Native Americans like Samoset, Squanto and Chief Massasoit, who helped them in so many ways. So that first Thanksgiving they invited their Indian friends.
Their Thanksgiving feast included lobster pies, cooked eels, other kinds of fish, roasted ducks and turkeys as well as berries, nuts, and I’m sure lots of different corn dishes. Chief Massasoit arrived with ninety men bringing five large deer to cook over the open fires. The feast lasted three days with games, laughter, dancing and singing.
I would never shop on Thanksgiving.

Today Thanksgiving in the USA is not only later in the year, but has changed in other ways, too. No longer is it a three day event. (I don’t consider the shopping frenzy of Black Friday part of Thanksgiving.) Nor do we have cooked eels or fish, and it doesn’t take place outside cooking over open fires.



This was taken years ago when my brother at the end was still alive. 

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it hasn’t been commercialized unless you consider Black Friday is now starting Thanksgiving evening in many stores. It’s a day to spend with family or friends with no gift giving. For quite a few years now, I’ve spent Thanksgiving at my sister, Elaine’s home. This gives my kids the freedom to go to their in-laws without worrying about poor old Ma being alone. My youngest waits to come home from California for Christmas when it’s my turn to prepare a big meal for everyone. All three of my children call me Thanksgiving morning to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving and to talk for a while.


My Thanksgiving afternoon and evening are spent with siblings and nieces and nephews. There’s quite a large group of us. My sister loves to cook and prepares the turkey and what traditionally goes with it, and the rest of us bring side dishes or desserts. For some years, my contribution has been a tray of cut up veggies and dip. How easy can that be!?!? This year it will be two dozen rolls I’ll buy at Sparkle Market which has an in store bakery. Even without our contributions, what Elaine prepares alone, with the help of any daughters and her son who made it home, would be enough to satisfy anyone’s taste and more than enough for seconds. Every year I look forward to the traditional food; the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce. In addition to the pumpkin pie, one of my sisters makes, my youngest brother, Phil, the marathon runner, will bring several fruit pies he’s made. He is an awesome cook.

Just as enjoyable as the food, and probably even more so is the camaraderie, laughter and the wild conversations. It’s very hard to get a word in with my very articulate and vocal family. After dinner dishes are cleared off, we sit around in a stupor for a while until a rollicking game of cards, Pounce, starts in the kitchen. My eyes can no longer follow the flying cards so I relax in the living room with a few others who pass on the cards.  I leave for home after we all eat again; turkey sandwiches, pie or another dessert someone brought.

This Thanksgiving I have much to be thankful for; my family and friends, my health, my home, and my critters. I could fill pages and pages of things I’m thankful for. I’m a truly lucky person.





What are you thankful for?
How do you spend Thanksgiving?
What is your favorite food at Thanksgiving?



9 comments:

  1. I have relatives who made it through the first winter and were at that first Thanksgiving. I'd happily forego the rest of the dinner just to have the pumpkin pie -- maybe with a dollop of vanilla ice cream on the side. We'll be sharing dinner with friends in the area.

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  2. We make Thanksgiving wherever we are, with friends and family. Have a great holiday, Gloria!

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  3. I like to take Thanksgiving and pause to remind myself of all my blessings. We end up having a few Thanksgiving dinners--not all on the holiday, of course. But we can't expect people to be in several places all at one time, so we make a real effort to have a dinner the weekend before, go to my brother's house on the day itself, and invite people for the long weekend, with a dinner on Saturday or Sunday. This year, we're having a guest who has survived cancer and is truly grateful.

    Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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  4. Jim, my ex-husband, and thus our kids, are direct descendants of John and Priscilla Alden through their second son Joseph. I love pumpkin pie, too.

    Margaret, I like that, too. Since I have Christmas at my house, my sister Elaine does Thanksgiving. I used to have a second one the next day for my kids and their families, who usually went to their in-laws on Thanksgiving, but they're all busy shopping the next day now.

    KM, I like that idea of having them different places. We sort of do that at Christmas. One sister always has something on Christmas Eve, and mine is on Christmas, but I usually have one earlier just for my kids and grandchildren, too.

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  5. Warren and Kait, I hope you're having a happy Thanksgiving, too, with lots of good food to eat, and family and/or friends to joke and laugh with.

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  6. The pictures on this post looked like a traditional home Thanksgiving celebration. We had them, but never this big. Thank goodness because I'm not that good of cook. Today, my husband and I went to a great restaurant in downtown Nashville. Just the two of us this year, and it sure beat cooking.

    Hope you all had a wonderful day. It's only once a year.

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  7. Linda, I'm happy to go away for Thanksgiving, because I don't like to cook anymore, either. Been there, done that for too many years. Of course, I do have Christmas at my house which involves a turkey, stuffing, etc. but most of the other stuff is brought by family members.

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