Over the River and through the Woods

Abstract

As Stephen Colbert says, 'Thanksgiving is a magical time of year when families across the country join together to raise America's obesity statistics. Personally, I love Thanksgiving traditions: watching football,, making pumpkin pie, and saying the magicphrase that sends your aunt storming out of the dining room to sit in her car." According to Wikipedia, Thanksgiving, perhaps the most tradition-filled of any American holiday, began this way: "... the 'First Thanksgiving' was celebrated by the Pilgrims (in the fall of 1621) to give thanks to God for guiding them safely to the New World. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days, providing enough food for 53 Pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. The feast consisted of fish (cod, eels, and bass) and shellfish (clams, lobster, and mussels), wild fowl (ducks, geese, swans, and turkeys), venison, berries and fruit, vegetables (peas, pumpkin, beetroot and possibly, wild or cultivated onion), harvest grains (barley and wheat), and the Three Sisters (beans, dried Indian maize or corn, and squash). The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating 'thanksgivings'--days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought." Historians tell us that the first thanksgiving was actually at Berkeley Plantation near Jamestown, Virginia, in 1519, when colonists also were grateful for a great harvest. Others insist it was 50 years earlier, when Pedro Menendez de Aviles came ashore with nearly a thousand sailors and civilians to a grassy spot on the Matanzas River in North Florida (near the future St. Augustine), to celebrate the first Christian Mass in America. A great meal followed, with thanks to their God. As a folklorist, I'm often interested in the context of human events. Besides, the what that happened, I want to know about the who, where, when, why, and how. Large celebrations almost always include food. Thanksgiving is the one that's about food and lots of it! For many families, traditions are almost set in stone. The family gathers together--you go to Grandma's house as long as you can (because that is home). Everybody brings food (family members' specialties). The menu is fixed (turkey with trimmings, mashed and sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, other vegetables (sometimes fresh from someone's garden), cranberry sauce (homemade vs. canned?), and desserts--pumpkin, pecan, apple, or sweet potato pies. Vegetarians and vegans may have a say in modern menus; some families add familiar ethnic choices, like lasagna or manicotti, kielbasa, collard greens, noodle pudding, falafel, or egg rolls. Eating to excess is a long-standing tradition. It's a time of license, so a second serving is allowed. Some have special table linens, china, and crystal (maybe family heirlooms), table decorations, flowers, a seating plan, a children's table in large families. Someone may say grace; some hold hands; some offer a toast. Festivals also include a variety of customs and rituals. Since 1924, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has been held annually--except during WWII--and, since the days of television, broadcast by NBC. …