Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Why? It's family oriented. It's not about gifts or candy or even sending greeting cards. It's very basic and meaningful: giving thanks to God for your blessings. Thanking and appreciating your loved ones, family and friends. Spending time together . How often do we even eat meals together anymore? On Thanksgiving we all sit down together in one place at one time, like we used to do.
Start with dinner. Does anything smell better than a turkey roasting on Thanksgiving Eve on on Thanksgiving morning? I'll take dark meat!
I love stuffing and cranberry sauce, but pass on mashed potatoes and candied yams/sweet potatoes. Warm baked apples, green and black olives, white corn, soft dinner rolls- all make excellent side dishes to the turkey.
What's the feeling on other entrees other than turkey on Turkey Day? To each his own. Lasagna or some other Italian food is popular. What about chicken or capon? Generally ham or roast beef is saved until Christmas, when turkey leftovers are either gone or tiresome.
What is your feeling about leftovers? You can do a lot with turkey. My favorite turkey leftover is a plain turkey sandwich. Give me a few slices of bird, lettuce ( not romaine), a slab of mayo, salt on a roll or between two pieces of bread, and I'm good to go.
Movies- there's really only one movie you can talk about regarding Thanksgiving- "Trains, Planes and Automobiles". the classic film starring Steve Martin and John Candy. It's a tradition to watch it around thanksgiving. Just as "A Christmas Story" is playing every year in a marathon, so should TP&A around Turkey Day.
Honorable mention is "Miracle On 34th Street." It's really a Christmas movie, but it starts on Thanksgiving Day morning during New York's annual Macy's Parade. I love the movie, especially Edmund Gwynn's portrayal of Santa Claus and the strikingly beautiful Maureen O'Hara.
Speaking of Thanksgiving Day parades, I'm not one to watch them, either in person or on TV. Kudos to the hearty souls who do go, especially this year with wind chills in the teens, despite the sunny skies. The balloons are always the best. I do love the pre-Christmas feel of the parades.Gets you in the mood!
Black Friday is always a special day but I never go shopping on Black Friday. true, you can get a lot of good deals, but with Cyber Monday now, and the weekend before Christmas, deal, steals and bargains can be had. Too much congestion and traffic on Black Friday, in and out of the malls. Still, I do love the malls after Thanksgiving, seeing all the decorations, the lights, the music, everything pointing toward the holidays. There's a certain hustle and bustle which adds excitement to life.
Songs- not many Thanksgiving -related tunes. I suppose "We Gather Together" is the one we associate most with Thanksgiving, but what about "Bless This House".
Our family tradition was always to go to church on Thanksgiving morning, then attend the local high school football game at 10 am.Phoenixville vs Great Valley was always the Turkey Day match-up. Now it's Phoenixville vs Spring-Ford. The come home for the big dinner around noon. Football would be on, the traditional early game hosted by Detroit. Dallas plays later and now there's a third game on at night.
Today's games are:
Bears at Lions- 12:30
Redskins at Cowboys 4:30
Falcons at Saints 8:30
Mom would always love making a turkey and all the fixings. When she got sick we ordered the turkey out so she wouldn't have to prepare. When the day was over I asked her how it went. She replied 'OK, but I didn't do anything"
"But that was the point," I said.
Next Thanksgiving we got a turkey but Mom set the table and mashed the potatoes. I learned she needed to do something. She didn't want to totally lose her independence. Not making dinner at thanksgiving was a sign of her slowing down. She had her pride and the family needed to see that and respect it. So, if simply allowing her to set the table was important to her, by all means.
It was a great lesson for everyone
Happy Thanksgiving!
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