The American Thanksgiving holiday is in a couple days. For those who celebrate (So Canadians, you could include yours too! Do Aussies have any equivalent?), what are your traditions? Any special food traditions?

 

 

even though i'm from the old continent, i still have turkey (or try to have anyways) on thanksgiving.

Interesting-- has American culture expanded that to Belgium, or did you pick that up from places like DM that are American-based?

american culture did expand into Belgium, but people chose to do something with it yes or no. For instance, we have turkey dinner for thanksgiving (even if it's not a big roasted one) and others don't. Some people celebrate halloween, some don't. Depends on what people think that seems to fit their personality. We also have a lot of american online friends

My family's thanksgiving tradition is to not have turkey. We usually eat lamb or ham. 

 

We also usually stay up playing 'til past 1:00 pm playing a card game called Sheephead (don't ask me why it's called that). It's a game frequently played in Wisconsin (my Dad is from there) and if any of you people know how to play this game (most people don't) then you are my knew best friend. 

Why is it called sheephead?

 

I'd love to have lamb on thanksgiving. Though I'd be sad if it didn't come with at least a few pieces of dark turkey meat. (I can leave the white stuff for someone else, thank you!)

 

 

We don't have any crazy traditions-- just meeting with family for the typical cuisine. Personally though, I hate stuffing (except as an ingredient in something called spinach balls), and I hate sweet potatoes in the way my family cooks them (large chunks in brown sugar sauce. They are fine as fries/chips, regular mashed, or the kind of mashed that has marshmellows on top.) I like my cranberry sauce both fresh and canned, and when I was little, I loved when the olive tray came around so I could put one on each finger.

 

This is our last thanksgiving with extended family though unless my vacation ever happens to align well-- we are moving across state lines next year.

Yeah we don't have any crazy one here too. But back in NYC we would go to my aunts house for thanksgiving. Each family would have to bring a plate of food or dessert. We usually bring cookies or cake. My aunt and her daughter would cook the traditional thanksgiving dinner with turkey, ham, horn, mash potatoes and broccoli. This year I'm working on the ambulance and the company is going to provide us Boston Market. Lol

Wrong continent for me. Don't think it ever even occurred to my family to celebrate Thanksgiving, I think the closest we have is the Harvest Festival, at the end of September, but that's a really small thing, no public holidays, just a school assembly when we were children

 cook the traditional thanksgiving dinner with turkey, ham, horn, mash potatoes and broccoli. 

 

Uh oh...

 

Wrong continent for me. Don't think it ever even occurred to my family to celebrate Thanksgiving, I think the closest we have is the Harvest Festival, at the end of September, but that's a really small thing, no public holidays, just a school assembly when we were children

 

So out of curiosity.. other than places like here where you interact with Americans, or any TV shows, is there anything where you are now that would remind you that our holiday is coming up?

Currently in Morocco, and not that I've noticed, bit I'm not really watching news as, well, Arabic/French :/ but not in the UK either. I studied for a year in Colorado, so I know it's sometime in November, but without DM I'd never know when :)

 

fwiw my impression of how the US splits up Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year is food/presents/alcohol... but since you don't do roast potatoes you automatically get the food wrong

 

sweet potatoes are good to

my bad Horn....i meant corn.

Yeah we don't have any crazy one here too. But back in NYC we would go to my aunts house for thanksgiving. Each family would have to bring a plate of food or dessert. We usually bring cookies or cake. My aunt and her daughter would cook the traditional thanksgiving dinner with turkey, ham, horn, mash potatoes and broccoli. This year I'm working on the ambulance and the company is going to provide us Boston Market. Lol

 

Cairos, you're going to eat horn?! 

we dont do it at all. in fact i think we barely eat turkey at all....maybe on a spit at a big party is about all

I usually volunteer to work on holidays... and I'm very thankful to avoid the family dinner.

 

Yay traditions! 

yo lanth!!  hands him a Bandy!  how u been bro?

Ok...I love Thanksgiving here.  Then again i'm in Massachusetts.  The Turkey, the stuffing, the gravy.  The apparent original Thanksgiving  But really, the whole thing is about famiily.  I would like to point out that Massachusettts is one of the last states to cling to the no one works on Thanksgiving, it's for family.

So that's 2 reasons to like Massachusetts

 

(I'm really glad that was in spell checker)

IMO, there is only one time when it is acceptable to be open for Thanksgiving or Christmas: if your staffing is ALL volunteer (many love working then for the holiday pay or because it is an easier shift), or something necessary such as police, hospital, etc.

My family tradition for thanksgiving is to enjoy dinner together at my aunt's house.

*coughs*

 

Thane has Turkey for Thanksgiving in Belgium ... because "I" decided it would be cool to do something no one else would do here ...