When the Pilgrims from England settled on American soil back in 1620, they were not prepared for the cold, dark months. They didn’t have much food, or any knowledge about growing local crops to stockpile for the winter. A group of Native Americans came to save the day by helping the Pilgrims with food. They also taught the settlers how to grow crops and to store them for next winter. The following year, the settlers, who were accustomed to celebrate harvest, held a community feast wherein the Native Americans were invited. It was the day to celebrate the bountiful harvest, and to show appreciation to their Native American friends. The feast included corn, wheat, barley, pumpkin, fish, deer, and of course, wild turkeys. The celebration wasn’t religious when it was started. The singing, dancing, and playing games weren’t allowed in a religious occasion. However, through the years, somehow thanksgiving to God was included into the holiday.
The tradition of gathering and feasting continued through the years. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of every November Thanksgiving Day. Later on in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt changed it to the fourth Thursday of every November instead. The reason was that sometimes the last Thursday falls too close to the Christmas, leaving the businesses less than a month's time to keep up with the two big holidays.
So how exactly is Thanksgiving being celebrated now? Families gather for the long weekend—the kids come home from college; parents visit their children’s family; the whole family has a reunion; and so on. For today’s feast, the menu more or less stays with the tradition: roasted turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, candied yams, green beans, peas, corn, warm rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin or pecan pie. Some people use a leg of ham instead or in addition to the turkey. (Getting hungry yet?) At the dinner table, a small prayer is said to give thanks to God with the blessing of plentiful food and good company. Of course, every family celebrates this holiday differently.
I was fortunate that I was with a host family for the first two years in the U.S. The very first year my host family took me to Arizona to visit my host mom’s parents, and we had a wonderful dinner at her sister’s house. However, just because you’re not with a host family, it doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on the American family experience. At USC, the Office of International Student Services offers a Thanksgiving exchange program. You sign up with the program, and they’ll pair you and some other students up with an American family for Thanksgiving. You could spend the entire day with the family, or just join them for dinner.
If your friend invites you to come along to his/her family for Thanksgiving, take up the offer. This may give you a chance to travel outside of your college town if your friend lives somewhere else, or at least have a place to be on Thanksgiving Day. There is no better way to spend a long holiday weekend with a good friend anyway. Trust me, it beats being alone in the building.
Another common way to celebrate the holiday is to host a Thanksgiving dinner party for other friends who don’t have a place to go for the holiday. My friend J.C. and her roommates invited me over one year. They cooked, and we helped clean up. We stuffed our faces until we couldn’t eat any more. We played some games, and watched some TVs. We were family for each other for the holiday. For the less daring ones, some restaurants offer take-home Thanksgiving meals you can pre-order, or just pick some up on the day to enjoy with company. I’m contemplating hosting the dinner this year. But the fact that I have never cooked a turkey ever before in my life is making the whole idea a bit intimidating. Then again, there’s always first time for everything!
Some people have come up with other creative alternative to cooking up the whole bird. They make other food with turkey or ham components in it. Perhaps spaghetti with turkey meatball, ground turkey fried rice, baked potato stuffed with ham? One year, I chose to stay at the dorm because I didn’t want one of my out-of-state suitemate to be alone on her first Thanksgiving away from home. So we made ourselves turkey and ham sandwiches, and rented movies.
Finally, instead of being alone for Thanksgiving, you could volunteer to serve others. Many local churches and homeless shelters serve Thanksgiving dinner to the poor, the hungry, and the homeless. They always need volunteer to help with fundraising and food drive prior to the holiday, and cooking and serving food on Thanksgiving. Check with your volunteer center for the opportunity to do something good for your soul.
Even though turkey seems to be the focus of this holiday to many, at the most basic level, Thanksgiving is the time for you to be thankful that you are alive in a company of family and friends. It’s the holiday for you to appreciate what you have and know that you’re blessed. It’s also the holiday which primes you for the giving season of Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanzaa, and of course, a preview of the winter holiday feast to come!
At J.C.'s house, Oakley captured J.C.'s brother Adam getting ready to carve the bird.