Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season and families worldwide have celebrated the day with a traditional dinner. It is typical to have a turkey at the center of the table; however, some families have a different tradition. In America, that is the standard, but other countries have celebrated the famous dinner with their customs and traditions.
Skylar Ebalarosa is of Puerto Rican descent and has a special Thanksgiving dinner she looks forward to every year. The main course is filled with different Puerto Rican dishes and all the aunts and mothers pull together to make the food.
“My aunt and mom always make the food together and it’s usually just them two in the kitchen, they don’t like help from others,” she laughed. “I guess they look at it as them spending quality time together.”
The dinner includes pernil, which is pork shoulder, ham, rice and beans, mofongo and coquito. After dinner, the family gathers in the living room and drinks while listening to music and enjoying each other’s company. Ebalasoa explains her favorite part of the day, “It’s a relaxing time and is the real reason we even get together on this day, to enjoy each other’s presence.”
Now there are no rules on what should be made for Thanksgiving dinner because everyone likes different things. Terrence Little, who is of Haitian descent, and his family look at dinner as more of a potluck.
“We all get together around 6 so we can have dinner and be ready in the living room right before the last football game starts.”
Their dinners change for most of the year, but the one common theme for the main dishes is lobster and shrimp.
“Soul food and seafood are my family’s favorite things to eat together, so we make a main dish of lobster and shrimp, and have soul food dishes at the side.”
For the side courses, they usually have baked macaroni and cheese, collard greens, cornbread, sweet potatoes and fried catfish. After dinner, they all gather and watch the 8:20 football game.
“It’s a special time for all of us to get together because a lot of us live in different states.”
Although dinner is an important part of the day, some families plan out their whole day from the moment they wake up. Kai Blanchard is from the Bronx, New York, and his family starts with breakfast and spends the entire day together.
“After breakfast, we all hang out for a little and watch a movie. After that, we change and head to the backyard to play a game of family football.”
Blanchard and his parents travel down to Nashville, Tennessee, and stay at his aunt’s house with the rest of the visiting family.
“Thanksgiving and Christmas are always a big event with my family. Ever since my grandmother passed away a few years ago, it brought the family closer. I look forward to those two days just as much as I look forward to my birthday,” Blanchard said.
Every family has a special tradition and that’s what Thanksgiving is about. It’s a time for families to be closer together and enjoy each other. Traditions make the experience more enjoyable and offer a different type of comfort.
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