The topic of Thanksgiving and traditions was a real though-provoking topic for me. Normally I usually just think of food. Food and family for this time of the year but no really special traditions. As a kid, we had Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents. My mother’s family gatherings were fairly small, most everyone there were adults so for me and my brothers, it was mostly about playing (running rather wild outside) and eating lots of food and having pumpkin pie.
My dad’s family was a different story. He is the second oldest of 13 kids and I the eldest grandchild. My dad’s youngest 2 brothers were less than 7 years older than I was so as you can imagine, Thanksgiving was chaos! And I loved it. Tons of cousins but it was cool to be the eldest, lots of younger uncles to bug and irritate and a couple aunts to admire and look up too (there were only 2 girls). So at my dad’s, it was about family, lots of family, lots of merriment and food. And pumpkin pie.
Occasionally, we had dinner at home with the occasional adult guests. Those celebrations weren’t much different than any other dinner. Except for the food. And yes, the pumpkin pie.
So when I had my children, we switched between 3 households. My husband’s parent’s had a tradition of getting the tree the day after and taking leftovers with us for a picnic on the beach. This was cool until allergies put an end to the live trees. Then they retired and moved away as my own parents did. Now we were on our own and it wasn’t that big a day except for the food. And yes, the pumpkin pie.
In thinking about the traditions of my childhood and what to write, I was quite stumped because there really isn’t a constant tradition aside from lots of food and of course, the pie. However, I was thinking of what to take to my son’s this year, knowing I’d take a jello salad it hit me. The one dish we had no matter where we were: my great-grandmother’s jello salad. Every year, we had this wonderful green salad and to this day, I make that same jello salad every year.
The last few years, my children have been taking turns at hosting Thanksgiving dinner and I carry on the tradition and fix Granny’s green salad. Will my kids carry this tradition on? I don’t know. Neither is as enamored of it as I am but then, they don’t have the same association to it as I do.
So even though we don’t have a lot of tradition to this holiday, there is one important tradition and it connects me to my long-gone great grandmother and if that isn’t a wonderful tradition, I don’t know what one is. Of course, there is always pumpkin pie.
Granny’s Jello Salad
1 sm pkg Lime Jello ½ Cup Mayo
Boil water. Add 1 cup to the lime jello and dissolve. Add mayo and mix well.
Add cottage cheese, pineapple & juice. Poor into bowl, put in refrigerator and let set.
Susan,
ReplyDeleteI think my head started swimming when I read "second oldest of 13 kids." Holy smokes! Sounds like a nice jello salad tradition. And of course... the pumpkin pie!
Love the idea of the green jello being the traditional food no matter where everyone was celebrating! That's family for you - each and every one is unique! Thanks for sharing the memories, Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteDee--it sure made for fun family gatherings and still does as all are still with us, but one. I have cousins younger than my kids so sometimes I feel really old!
ReplyDeleteVeronica--thanks for stopping by.
Now that my kids are grown, and there's in-law competition for their time, we are beginning some new traditions. After Thanksgiving, Friday or Saturday, we get together for a meal of our favorite snackies or new recipes we want to try. We drink wine and play Scrabble or cards.
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids were little, we'd put up the Christmas tree and back gingerbread men the weekend after Thanksgiving. I love holiday traditions!
I have the coolest kids! Maybe someday I'll have grandchildren, and we'll start some new traditions!
That's a fun tradition, Susan. Thanks for sharing it with us!
ReplyDeleteBarbara--I am waiting for grandkids and making new traditions. If only my kids would see the light....
ReplyDeleteAs a Brit, Thanksgiving doesn't mean a lot to me. But as I'm in Florida I can't help getting the vibes. It's making me think of my aged mother, suffering so badly from dementia. Life can be cruel.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother made a similar jello. She put grated carrots and pineapple in it. I have to confess, I never liked it much, but Thanksgiving isn't the same without it.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this post with us.
Thank you for being yoou
ReplyDelete