Winter Joy Retreat-Day 11: Food and Tradition

I'm participating in an online writer's retreat, thanks to Nina Badzin's blog. The topic is "Edible Memories," so all the posts will be about food. I will try to post every day to keep up, but there are some I might come back to later, depending on my schedule and when inspiration strikes.

Due to Hanukkah and a busy week, I'm still behind, so please bear with me. Thanks!

Friday's topic:
What family traditions have fallen away or transformed into something new over the years? What foods evoke the rituals of your past? Tell us.

When I was a kid, and all through my teen and college years (and probably beyond), we had Thanksgiving dinner with my mom's first cousin and her family. Usually, my maternal grandma and her brother would be there, as well. We'd have it at our house every year. The only time we didn't was when my mom's cousin hosted the year my mom had back surgery. When we were little, my cousins, sister, and I would sit at the kid's table. Eventually we got to join the adults at their table. My third cousins on my mom's side are somewhat close in age. I'm a year younger than one of them and several years older than the other. We all got along really well, and still do!

Every year, there would be turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and most other traditional Thanksgiving foods. I don't remember what desserts would be available since I didn't like pumpkin pie at the time. Maybe my mom got me cherry pie or a cake? I'm surprised that dessert is such a blur for me!

I remember one year my sister took a video of everyone together. Our beagle, Buddy, was part of the festivities, as well. He even sat in my chair and licked my finished plate while my mom's cousin looked on with shock and disgust. (I think there was a different year when he grabbed a turkey leg off the table and my dad chased him around the house, and then the same thing happened on The Simpsons while we were watching together after dinner.) In any case, it was funny to watch!

On Christmas, we would go to my mom's cousin's house for a similar feast. While we didn't celebrate, they did.

This tradition changed when we moved away. I'm sure my family still celebrates one or the other with my mom's cousin, but not always both. Our first Thanksgiving out east was spent at my mother-in-law's apartment in Manhattan. We went to see the Macy's parade (as much as we could see of it) and then relaxed back at the apartment. There was a pool on the top level, so we even got to swim for a while. I had made pumpkin soup and brought it with for all of us to enjoy. My mother-in-law made a small turkey and some side dishes. And then there was pumpkin pie. Since it was the only dessert available, I decided to try it. Lo and behold....I enjoyed it! The following year, we hosted Thanksgiving dinner in our house for the first time. My in-laws and my husband's uncle came over for the meal.

The second time we hosted Thanksgiving dinner was in our new home in Maryland. My in-laws came down from New York and it was just the six of us (including my two sons). Then they spent Shabbos weekend with us. From there on, we've hosted Thanksgiving here every year. The only break in tradition was when my in-laws couldn't make it out here one year because one of them was sick. We hosted some friends who lived nearby and didn't have family visiting either. That was in 2012, I believe. The following year, it was Thanksgivukkah, which was the one and only time Thanksgiving and Hanukkah collided. It was also the first time my brother-in-law and his family joined us for dinner. Since then, they've been coming over for Thanksgiving every year.

I have a feeling that Thanksgiving traditions will ebb and flow, but I enjoy that we host it and I have a great relationship with my in-laws. I also have the fond memories of childhood Thanksgivings to look back upon, so that I can re-create the feeling for my kids.