Thanksgiving- A Very American Eclectic Holiday
I conducted an unofficial and non scientific survey of how POC-ites celebrate Thanksgiving. The names have been deleted to protect the crazy, but local lunatics, fanatics and other opinionated persons have shared with us the traditional, nontraditional and downright goofy ways they celebrate thanksgiving.
One family remembers the corn of the first thanksgiving by putting candy corn on each plate and family members share one thing they are thankful for each time they eat a piece. An elderly lady said she taught her family to write thank you notes by having everyone write a thank you note telling what he or she is thankful for, and they are not permitted to write health, family or money. The notes are thrown into a bowl. Each person then picks and unfolds one paper and must guess who wrote it. A kindergarten grandson wrote to the chickens thanking them for eggs because that was all he knew how to spell, and a homesick college student wrote to ‘JetBlue’ grateful for cheap tickets home. A local family of German descent picks a different ethnic cuisine to try each year and everyone picks a dish to bring and share from that culture. Some have been a great success, but a few have been epic failures. The young lady said her granddad really hated Chinese cuisine for Thanksgiving, but thought the year they did Cuban food was great.
A man made me promise not to name his family, because people would now know they were all crazy. They hold a contest to see who can get a spoon to balance on their nose the longest. “I have no recollection of how that tradition began,” John says. “It’s a contest we’ve been doing for the past couple years and my mom is usually the winner, either because she cheats, or because her nose is distinctly shaped. Several fairly normal people act like crazy children and have a great time with a bunch of spoons.”
A young mother told me that her grandmother started the tradition of keeping last year’s wishbone to pull for wishes or dreams at this year’s family meal. They have done it for years. Her preteens asked if they would still get to draw names for the wishbone even though Memee went to heaven this year. She assured them they would. The tradition continues. A school boy told of a new tradition they are planning. They are making a ‘thankful tree.’ They will each write what they are thankful for on colored paper and decorate a small tree with the paper curls. They plan to keep it up through the holidays.
Quite a few families intend to usher in Christmas just as soon as the turkey is eaten. They are putting up lights, decorating trees and shopping, shopping, shopping. ‘Black Friday’ plans were mentioned by women while some men had hunting trips scheduled or fishing outings planned. Lots of women are going power shopping; almost everyone is planning to watch some football. Pies and cakes and cookies were anticipated, and surprisingly several people mentioned eating olives. One group of sisters has been sticking them on their fingers and eating them off one by one since they were children. The oldest sister said ‘I don’t think that is very unusual, but we ALWAYS picked out ten olives each, stuck them on our fingers, and somehow found that to be the funniest thing ever. We would laugh while we ate them off our fingertips. This quirky tradition found its way back every year, and it’s one of my fondest memories of Thanksgiving. I’m embarrassed to say that at least one of us still does it each year, now with the grandchildren…”
A blended large family draws secret Santa names for gift exchange at the Thanksgiving meal because they know that everyone will be there. A couple mentioned they like to play cards and board games together after they eat. It seemed like everyone had something that made the day special just for them.
While the tradition of the holiday may be old, it continues to adjust and transform as people observe and celebrate. John F. Kennedy said in one of his holiday speeches that our nation reflected the nature of its people and our holidays reflect the changes of our nation. More than fifty years after the death of President John F. Kennedy, many in our communities exemplify his Thanksgiving message, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter thankful words, but to live by them.” Happy Thanksgiving!
