Thanksgiving 2008

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Posted on: 28 Nov, 2008 05:28 PM

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I wish it could stand on it's own, out from under the cloak of glamour and busyness of the "Holiday Season". But other than that, I think it is perfect.

There are all many versions of what happened early on here in the U.S. between the Mayflower pilgrims and the Native Americans. Many say both the feast and the relations between the parties have been idealized, brutality overlooked. Some point out that the first Thanksgiving was actually held fifty years before the Mayflower settlers arrived, in Florida, where the French Heugenots had put down roots, and were, unfortunately, massacred by the Spanish soon after.

The histories I choose to remember are the stories of people making the best of what they have, appreciating who they are with and... being grateful. It is a holiday where many people think about others. It is a holiday where we take note of that which the earth has provided for us. It is a secular holiday, includes people of all religions, and, to my mind, reminds of the most important messages religion offers: generosity, humility and gratitude.

This was a monumental Thanksgiving for me because my children joined me in the kitchen. We cooked, cleaned and prepared the table together over the course of two days.

Food and shelter. Work. Togetherness. For these, I gave thanks.

Photo from Food

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Smiling7

Submitted by Smiling7 on 19 Nov, 2009 02:12 AM

Holly, your blog is making me hungry. How nice that you all could be together.

This year it looks like we may do something different...we may hike out to a waterfall at a remote beach in Pt.Reyes and bring along an extensive Thanksgiving picnic. I'll report back later.

Thanks for your comment, Kirsten,

Your tentative plans sound memorable. Maybe you can all take turns writing what you're grateful for on leaves or pieces of bark and send them floating over the waterfall?!

Packing an "extensive Thanksgiving picnic" sounds like a fun challenge!

I look forward to hearing more about it,

Holly

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Kirsten

Submitted by Kirsten on 18 Nov, 2009 09:02 PM

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, also!

This year, my family (or most of my family) celebrated early. Why? My oldest brother, Tom, lives in California (west coast of the U.S.) and rarely visits mom and dad (on the east coast of U.S.). He was here for three days (Nov. 14, 15, 16).

One of my other brothers, Scott, drove in from a few hours away. My youngest brother, Mark, could not make it (he lives in New Jersey, also east coast, but several hours away).

But because there were three of the four children "at home" again, my mom prepared an early almost-Thanksgiving dinner:

shrimp cocktails
fresh creamed corn
coleslaw
zucchini with onions and apricots
roasted fennel
Turkey and stuffing and gravy
strawberries & rhubarb
apple pie (filling = our family makes "pie" without the crust; healthier!)
pumpkin pie

yummm!

Then, after dinner, we played games together for several hours.

The next day, we ate lots of leftovers and played more games.

[Now you all know why I haven't been on EC much the past few days].

But now, we're not sure what we'll eat on Thanksgiving day itself: another turkey?

But we do know that we have more memories to be thankful / grateful for.

My parents were very happy to see three of their children together again.

Holly

Holly, your blog is making me hungry. How nice that you all could be together.

This year it looks like we may do something different...we may hike out to a waterfall at a remote beach in Pt.Reyes and bring along an extensive Thanksgiving picnic. I'll report back later.

Reply to Comment >

Smiling7

Submitted by Smiling7 on 17 Nov, 2009 07:49 PM

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, also!

One of my other brothers, Scott, drove in from a few hours away. My youngest brother, Mark, could not make it (he lives in New Jersey, also east coast, but several hours away).

But because there were three of the four children "at home" again, my mom prepared an early almost-Thanksgiving dinner:

yummm!

Then, after dinner, we played games together for several hours.

The next day, we ate lots of leftovers and played more games.

[Now you all know why I haven't been on EC much the past few days].

But now, we're not sure what we'll eat on Thanksgiving day itself: another turkey?

But we do know that we have more memories to be thankful / grateful for.

My parents were very happy to see three of their children together again.

Holly

Reply to Comment >

jessicadold

Submitted by Jessicadold on 17 Nov, 2009 12:13 AM

I remember learning about the not-so-thankful history of the pilgrims and how devastated I was. I've started a Thanksgiving group to share information. I may post a selection from the People's History of the United States for the rawer version of the story. :)

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gomathi

Submitted by Gomathi on 09 Dec, 2008 10:52 AM

and "grow the gratitude" is very poetic--I might borrow it someday

We will share the rights in the poem then:)

And, do you use this 'olive' a lot in food? Because we rarely use, in fact almost nil usage. But whenever I see that, I will be tempted to have some 'kalakai pickle' which is of smaller size, and very spicy here. Olive oil, we use for some massages, not in south Indian cooking.

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gomathi

Submitted by Gomathi on 09 Dec, 2008 10:52 AM

Thanks Auntcat and Kirsten! And, it was nice reading about forks. I need to learn a lot of British/American table manners:) Though we manage with spoons and forks, I always simply use that which is more convenient while eating, not knowing what is meant for what:) Usually one medium sized spoon and ordinary fork comes handy for me. And while getting up from the table, I leave the spoon and fork crossed, again I get confused as to which one should top the other. So I play for a while and leave it.

Better I learn fast, before my child starts teaching me:) I wonder how the chinese use their two sticks, that too for noodles! I definitely prefer my 5 fingered hand for a fork:)

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auntcat

Submitted by Auntcat on 03 Dec, 2008 03:18 AM

Thank you for answering that Auntcat...much more info than I could have provided.

Gomathi, I love your phrase "grow the gratitude." I do not think many people here in the U.S. would phrase it that way - they might say "encourage gratitude" or "take the time to be grateful" or something along those lines, but "grow the gratitude" is very much to the point. We are creatures of our collective consciousness and I do believe you can cultivate environments in which gratitude can thrive and grow...which makes for happier lives.

and "grow the gratitude" is very poetic--I might borrow it someday

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Kirsten

Submitted by Kirsten on 01 Dec, 2008 08:28 PM

Large two-pronged forks are for slicing and serving meat. Small two-pronged forks are for shellfish, escargot (fancy snails) and serving pickles/ olives and similar foods.
Dinner forks usually have longer tines and four of them. Forks for salad have shorter tines, usually four as well. Dessert forks also are shorter and may have a slightly thicker tine on one side.
I have seen tables set with even more specialized forks but would be lost trying to figure out what goes where.

Thank you for answering that Auntcat...much more info than I could have provided.

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auntcat

Submitted by Auntcat on 01 Dec, 2008 09:01 AM

Thanks Giving Day is something unique to hear in Tamilnad, India. It is a great gesture to remember people, to grow the gratitude.

And, the table is nicely set Kirsten! Here, we are able to see such an arrangement in restaurants. At home, we normally keep the cooked food in vessels with plates or banana leaves nearby. We eat with our hands mostly.

Have a question-what is the difference between the forks that I usually see in restaurants? One fork has only 2 thongs whereas the other has 4 thongs. Any idea?