400 Years of Tradition

That’s how long Thanksgiving has been around in America. A lot has changed since the first recorded celebration held in Charles City County, Virginia by a group of English Puritan settlers who had arrived that year with the London Company Charter. A few years later in 1621, the Pilgrims of Plymouth, Massachusetts also held a feast that became part of history that has survived for four centuries. While Virginia and New England continue to duke it out over who had the first Thanksgiving, please pass the mash potatoes and gravy.There’s no question as to why turkey was part of the original feasts. Native to North America, the large game bird was plentiful and hunted by both Native Americans and the colonizers as a food source. In addition to turkey, written accounts of the shared meal between the two included venison, waterfowl, ham, clams, lobster, squash, berries and fruits.Much has changed since the first Thanksgivings, yet a pilgrim transported to the twenty-first century would recognize the centerpiece on the table.While many cultures and countries have their own version of Thanksgiving, the basic tenet is the post-harvest feast. On the East Coast, late November is right about when mother nature shuts down for the season. Poultry, deer and pigs are at their fattest, vines, bushes and trees are ripe with fruits and crustaceans and bivalves are best to eat.While our collective may continue in with feasting, traditions are varied and unique among families and friends. Last year I shared my turkey tragedies with Dishing the Dirt readers, but this year has been more nostalgic. One of my favorite turkey dinners was with my dear friends, the Anderson family who invited me along with two co-workers stranded at a job site over the Thanksgiving holiday. Prior to the meal as we were seated at their dinner table and before the blessing was given, two colorful corn kernels were placed on our plates. We were instructed to put a kernel in the passed basket and name something for which we were thankful. One of my co-workers was from New Zealand and had never experienced an American Thanksgiving. Not quite understanding the holiday, he later quipped that he very much like one in which people gorged themselves before retreating to watch sports for the remainder of the day. “I don’t understand what you’re celebrating, but I’m good with it,” he said.Tradition for me growing up meant a family meal at my grandparents’ home with aunts, uncles, cousins and watching the parades on television while the adults cooked. Imagine my surprise years later when I realized that the Aloha Parade was pre-recorded from the festivals that take place in September. How many people even know this?As with Thanksgiving at the Andersons’, the men of my family beached themselves in front of the TV to sleep off their overload of carbohydrates while the women and kids would take a walk up to the local cemetery listening to Grandma tell stories about people who were only known by their gravestones. Once back at the house, the dishes would be cleaned and dried and leftover stashed away before the pumpkin pie would be cut and sprayed with copious amounts of whipped cream. If we were really lucky, the kids would all pile into the car with the men and go “spotting deer” in preparation for the opening of deer hunting season that would commence the following Monday. On Saturday, we’d go pick out our Christmas tree and have a big helping of turkey gravy over waffles when we got home.One tradition for which I was gratefully spared was the ladies’ Black Friday holiday shopping trips. Even today I cringe at the thought of venturing out into bastions of consumerism immediately after Thanksgiving except for Shop Small Saturday in quaint towns with lots of independent stores.Over the years I’ve let traditions come and go without retaining much of the same. The three-hour traffic jams on the 405 freeway to my in-laws in Los Angeles are thankfully in my taillights. No more marathon turkey wrangling to get meals on others’ tables. There have been Friendsgivings and road trips, dinners at neighbors—sometimes twice in one day. I’ve roasted, smoked, grilled, deep-fried turkeys, served ham, pheasant, goose and abalone. There have been memorable meals both for their success as well as their failures.As Thanksgivings roll by I find myself stepping away from tradition. This year I’m opting for a weekend out of town, actually out of state thanks to there being no markets on Sunday following Thanksgiving. Seriously, who is going to shop for food with a house full of leftovers? The duck confit and salmon caviar I’ve had squirreled away will pair well with the fresh persimmons and my favorite cheese from Shepherds Manor Creamery. Last week kalettes showed up at Twin Springs. Be still my beating heart. I’ve been staying away from the French pastries, but this week I’m going to break down for a small delight otherwise I’m certain to bake a pumpkin pie and eat the whole darn thing myself. One thing is for certain though, I’ll need more than two kernels of corn to count for all that I am thankful.