Thanksgiving: Not Just About the Turkey

People all over the United States celebrate Thanksgiving. Families gather to enjoy delicious food and each other's company. It is a time when we can appreciate our loved ones and give thanks for everything in our lives.

We cannot forget about the origin of Thanksgiving. As the story goes, the English sailed from England on the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth Rock, and had a good harvest in 1621. So, the governor (William Bradford) held a feast to celebrate and invited a group of friendly Native Americans, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit, and they feasted on venison, wildfowl, bass, cod, possibly passenger pigeons, squash, beans, onions, carrots, and other root vegetables, Plums, grapes, and berries, walnuts, chestnuts, and beechnuts.

Over the years, families have developed their own Thanksgiving traditions. In our family, we always watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and all the football games. At our dinner table, we usually have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, spinach, corn, Hawaiian rolls with butter, and cranberry sauce. There is also one special meal we have on our table: Polish kielbasa. For dessert, we go to the other side of the family. They always have apple pie, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie. The next day, I always go to the mall with my family to get in on Black Friday deals from various stores.

Of course, these are just my family’s traditions, and there are many other common ones. Some families travel to other parts of the country to see other relatives and friends, break the turkey’s wishbone for good luck, go around the table and say what they are thankful for, or even wake up early in the morning for a “turkey trot”