Most Americans grew up seeing the First Thanksgiving as a moment of gratitude for the bounty of the earth and the goodness of God; a gratitude which unified people who were culturally very different. While there have been many reappraisals of the historical realities of that first gathering, the basic truth of the initial encounter remains: Settlers and Native Americans shared a meal together at the end of the harvest. More importantly, the importance of gratitude for the most essential things in life also stands – survival, home, and food.
A historical element that adds to the poignancy of the Thanksgiving celebration is the recognition that Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the holiday in the middle of the Civil War – a time that truly needed a holiday, when intense hardships and national strife could naturally have made gratitude hard to come by.
One of the things I love about Thanksgiving is the relatively low level of commercialization around the celebration: it continues to be a moment of gathering and togetherness, in a very American way. The food almost everyone eats is mostly indigenous to the Americas: potatoes, turkey, cranberries, sweet potatoes, wild rice, pumpkin and pecan pie are all based on ingredients native to the New World, making them a true celebration of the bounty of this “new” earth.
Openness to something different
But what began as a celebration of the earth’s bounty – albeit a bounty that looked very different from the food back home – has become somewhat formulaic over the years. Thanksgiving food is very traditional, and I, for one, love that. We Americans so seldom take pride in our cultural culinary heritage, and I am genuinely grateful that we do actually celebrate our own food one day a year.
As good as all these traditional dishes are, however, it’s important to recognize that the original celebration was gratitude for the food that the Lord had provided, despite some dishes looking very different from what the first Thanksgiving celebrants were used to.
That openness to new food, and new ways in which God continues to provide, is a key underlying feature of Thanksgiving. Much of what is now standard Thanksgiving fare would have seemed exotic for those early settlers
New flavors ...
While there is no need to give up that satisfaction of traditional Thanksgiving food, we should feel encouraged to branch out a little. Indeed, American society has been built on accepting and including traditions from an ever-expanding circle of people and cultures.
What does that look like in practice?
Well, like everything else, it depends a bit on where you are and who you’re with! The key thing is to keep the people you love in mind in your celebration. If, for instance, your daughter’s boyfriend is joining you and he’s Lebanese, you could serve a Lebanese-inspired salad. Are you inviting some Brazilian friends over? Then consider having a side of farofa next to your traditional stuffing, or add something South American, like passion fruit, to the dessert table.
If you are just having the “usual suspects” over, then you might try adding something unexpected to the menu: a different sort of pie or inviting someone to bring their variation of a traditional dish or a food representing their own culinary tradition.
... and new faces
But if you want to embrace the true spirit of Thanksgiving, then consider adding someone new to add to the mix: a single neighbor or co-worker whose family lives far away, or the empty nesters whose kids are working through the holiday. Inviting new people and new flavors to the table is a key part of our Christian tradition, at Thanksgiving and always.
For my part, I am trying to add a little something new to the repertoire every couple of years (depending on who is coming). We’ve tried brining the turkey in various ways (I highly recommend a dry brine if you’re wondering) and this year I think I may have to try some cranberry curd tart, plus a couple of Irish side dishes for some friends.
If anyone is surprised by what’s on the menu this year, you can just tell them that’s the truly traditional American way of doing things: mixing it up.
