I’m a big fan of traditions. I believe traditions, for all the bad press they get, are part of the cement that holds families together in the long-term. Like many people, family traditions, especially around the holidays, were a big deal.
Thanksgiving was a big one. We started off the morning watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. I always helped my mom prepare the turkey- I had a morbid fascination with giblets. Next, we all ran off to the Turkey Bowl, a flag football game with all of our friends and family. People got hurt. People got into shoving matches. Some achieved glory with audacious plays. Others felt the sting of defeat. At the end, we washed it all down with donuts, orange juice, and chocolate milk. Nursing our wounds, we returned to our homes, recounting each spectacular play and continuing the smack talk. Exhausted and famished from three hours of play, we were perfectly primed for a Thanksgiving feast.
We all returned to our homes just long enough to finish preparing pies, deviled eggs, ham, the turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry, shrimp cocktail, cakes, and jello. Then we all assembled at our grandfather’s business with a dazzling parade of one dish after another. All was placed on long tables buffet-style- there were far too many of us to sit around one table. A prayer was said and then all of us descended on the food in a truly American display of decadence and gluttony. We had plate after plate- that’s what it took to sample everything. We laughed and talked and sprawled out on the floor with our swollen bellies pointing skyward. Most of the time we would fall asleep. We might wake up and go back for more. By early evening, we were sick of hanging around and stuffing ourselves. So we would go to a local basketball court and play game after game of full-court ball until late that night.
Funny enough, my siblings, my cousins, and I continue these traditions today. In fact, we’re planning on it this Thursday. In a world that is constantly shifting, it connects us to our past and to each other. As we watch our children, we notice it connects them too.
What are your Thanksgiving traditions? How do traditions shape your family?
