The Thanksgiving Tradition

 The traditional Thanksgiving goes back to the first Thanksgiving, celebrated in the Plymouth colony by those who had come to this country on the Mayflower. 

The first Thanksgiving celebration, was a feast of boiled turkey, corn, fruits vegetables, and fish (packed in salt) smoked-cured over a fire.  The Pilgrims invited their neighbors, Native American Indians, to share the meal with them.  It was Governor William Bradley who first proclaimed the celebration to be, “a day of thanksgiving” that was to be shared by the colonists and their guests to whom they owed so much.  What started in 1621 as a celebration of being alive has become a nationwide tradition, continued into modern times.

Today people have many Thanksgiving traditions that they enjoy participating in with their family. Although every family has their own special traditions, several popular traditions are:

1.Family and Friends – celebrating together.

2.The Autumn Harvest -   People thank the Almighty for the harvest and praise God.

3.Offering Prayers – Families collectively offer Thanksgiving prayers for His Blessings.

4.Thanksgiving Dinner - A custom in the United States of having dinner together.

5.Eating Turkey – Eating at least one dish with turkey as the Thanksgiving tradition.

6.Playing Football – People love to play and watch games on T.V.

7.Thanksgiving Day Parade – Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a custom in America.  The parade is held every year in New York City.

8.Pilgrims’ History – Traditional Thanksgiving recounts the story of the Pilgrims, early settlers, and the challenges that they faced.

9.Songs and Poems – There is a wide array of Thanksgiving songs and poems that enable families to create the celebrations.

Setting a Thanksgiving table can be a beautiful and well-arranged table to enhance the presentation of the meal.  It must be set not only to accommodate your guests, but you as well.  In order to do so, preparation should be made in advance to help you through the process.

There are a variety of recipes, old and new that remain in family traditions.  The turkey stuffing seems to be a popular one.  An old traditional stuffing consists of cubed bread, an egg, sliced celery, cream of mushroom soup and salt and pepper.  

Vegetarian Thanksgivings are becoming more popular. Though it’s the American tradition to eat turkey for dinner, it’s not the only thing you can have.  There are a variety of vegetarian dishes and recipes available for those that don’t eat meat. 

Last but not least, it’s not unheard of to dine out on Thanksgiving.  Restaurants are providing the traditional meals for those that do not want to cook and just relax, enjoying the time with family and friends. College students have a disadvantage, especially if they live far from home.  All the traditions that they have known aren’t available to them here, unless, of course, a generous invite of a fellow student has been extended.