Turkey Day isn't the same for everyone!

Today is Thanksgiving!

Traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Photo by Ben Franske.

Traditionally, that means families gather together to eat a gigantic home-cooked dinner consisting of: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. Everyone eats until they can't eat anymore. Then they play and watch American football. Is there a more American holiday? ;-)

That is what every single American family will be doing tonight. Well, in the movies at least!

Like all things American (and holidays in particular), they are very individual. Celebrations vary from family to family and year to year.

In my family, Thanksgiving isn't a family holiday. My parents have Thanksgiving dinner with friends. Since its not a family function, I am free to go or not go. Sometimes instead I spend Thanksgiving with my wife's family or my friends.

On the other hand, Thanksgiving is an important time for my wife's family. They all gather at her grandmother's house in Illinois for the entire holiday weekend (Thursday to Sunday). However, they don't cook at home, they go to a restaurant.

In neither celebration is there any mention of American football!

As far as turkey, sometimes it's there, sometimes not. At one Thanksgiving we ate Mexican enchiladas instead. There are also the occasional Thanksgiving fads. For a few years, deep-fried turkeys were very popular. At an other time, it was the turducken: a duck stuffed inside a chicken stuffed inside a turkey.

A Tofurkey still in the packaging! Photo by Whitebox on the Wikipedia.

Of course, I am a vegetarian. This means at Thanksgiving I eat mostly sides. My favorite Thanksgiving foods are stuffing (when not cooked inside the turkey) and pumpkin pie (my Ma makes the best!). One year I did have a tofurkey (a turkey made of tofu) when I celebrated the holiday with my friends.

The one thing we will all have in common tonight? We will all be eating a lot.