Thanksgiving: the Menu and the Meaning.

Celebrating Thanksgiving in Mexico.

All year long, we have many beautiful feasts here in Mexico, starting with "Los Reyes" or "The Magi" on January 6th, later "La Candelaria" or Saint Blaize on February 2nd. Then later in February or early March comes "Miércoles de Ceniza" or Ash Wednesday, and 40 days later "Semana Santa" or Holy Week. "La Batalla de Puebla" or the Victory of Mexico's army against the French Troops in Puebla is celebrated on May 5th,while "La Noche del Grito" or the Night of the Shout of Independence  comes on September 15th, while the "Dia de Muertos" or "All Souls Day", "El Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe" or the Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12th, and finally "La Noche Buena" or Christmas Eve, is on December 24th. However, Thanksgiving has a special essence that none of these other feast in Mexico can match. At least here, in our home, Thanksgiving has long ago become a Mexican Party with exotic but delicious American food.

Photograph by Stella Kavanagh

Although I was born in Philadelphia, I came to Mexico 43 years ago, and married a young Mexican woman in 1977. Some 30 years ago, I started celebrating Thanksgiving, so that my children, just infants back then, would have an idea of what this American tradition was about. Our first Thanksgiving was just my wife, my daughter and my oldest son, ages 4 and 3 at that time. I spent most of that afternoon talking to my sister  over the phone.  She has been living in New Hampshire over the last 50 years. I can still remember her advice: "Remember! Give the turkey a half an hour in the oven  for every pound!" After I hung up, I was confused: "What did my sister say? Half a pound per every hour? Or half a kilogram for every hour?" I couldn't double check it on some internet site back then in the 1980's. So it was a question of relying on my wits, and trial and error, trial and burnt turkey, trial and crude turkey, trial and dried out turkey. But I could always rely on the support and enthusiasm of 3 women: my wife, my sister and my daughter.

What are the elements of a typical New England-style thanks giving buffet, which has been the trend for our Thanksgiving dinners for over 3 decades:

• Oven-roasted whole Turkey,
• Bread.celery and onion stuffing.
• Sweet potato
• Yams
• Mashed potatoes
• Giblet gravy
• Corn
• Whole and Jellied Cranberry Sauce
• Apple sauce
• Rhubarb

As deserts, we usually have:

• Pumpkin Pie,
• Apple Pie,
• Eggnog

Table decorated with motifs reflecting the reality of the harvest season.

Yet, as time has gone by, I realized how important our annual Thanksgiving dinner became to my wife and children: even more important than it was for me. as if they had understood the mystic of Thanksgiving far better than I had. After the first few years, my wife started to invite her parents, and her sister and some of her brothers. The very first time my father-in-law, a Spaniard, looked at Thanksgiving Platter we prepared for him, I could read a look of total disbelief on his face: "sweet and salty things on the same plate?" (Such a combination would be unheard of in traditional Spanish cooking.) But as time went by, he became a great "Thanksgiving-enthusiast"

As they grew, each one of my children demanded their own table, and invited their own group of friends. Our typical dinners include 3 turkeys, 30 lbs. each, for 75 guests, 2 maids and 5 waiters. My wife and I still do all the cooking, starting on Monday, baking the pumpkin pies, then buying the turkeys on Tuesday, and boiling the sweet potatoes, while starting to prepare the stuffing, and on Wednesday, cutting up onions and celery for the stuffing while sauntering them in butter, and boiling the potatoes for the mash potatoes.

There are certain guidelines that I have tried to follow of the years. This meal is very delicious, but was never intended to be gourmet. The ingredients should be fresh, of good quality, but simple and authentic, with no intention of masquerading the original savors. The platter should try to show a variety of natural and contrasting flavors.

 

In this blog, we will go into every aspect of Thanksgiving: the history, the food, tips on decorating and cooking. . However, our scope is much wider. We are interested in finding out  how Mankind shows its Thanks to the Creator of the World.

One of  degrading names you can call someone in Spanish is "un ingrate", a person incapable of gratitude. Gratitude is a virtue that ennobles us as humans. Gratitude shows appreciation for the goods received, and recognition of the fact that we receive them as gifts, and that these gifts are not ours by property nor by right.

I bless the table before dinner, giving a small introduction on the history of Thanksgiving, and then I remind our guests that we should follow the good example of the first Pilgrims and their native American guests, and give thanks for so many wonderful things that we have received from God: our lives, our parents, sisters and brothers, children and grandchildren, our health, the food and drink we enjoy everyday, our freedom and good fortune in our professional lives, and the love we receive not only from our family but from our friends. At this point, we bless the table and sit down for the meal.

So far, I have mentioned God frequently while talking about Thanksgiving. This has not stopped us from inviting atheists to come enjoy Thanksgiving with us. They seem to enjoy it as well.
 

Thanksgiving might appear on American Calendars, and it may have started near Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, but the essence goes far beyond its borders, appealing to all men.

Yet having said such a awesome statement, my personal evidence to back it up is limited to just two countries: the United States and Mexico. Therefore I invite those readers of this blog to write and enrich ua with their own experiences of Thanksgiving, and how they celebrate it in their own country.