Thanksgiving memories/traditions
 

We live on Long Island, and my sister lived near Binghamton NY-- about a 5 hour drive (mainly getting out of the metropolitan area). It was a tradition for my brother and his family, and me and my kids ( divorced) to make the trek to spend Thanksgiving together for about 25 years.
Somehow was able to get the Wednesday before and the Friday after off from work. So Wednesday morning I picked my 2 kids from their mother then went my brother's house and picked up his 3 kids..( leaving my brother and his wife a night alone) as he made the trip on Thanksgiving Day
We then drove up singing Christmas Carols recalling stories of past holidays and enjoying ourselves.
We would stay until the day after T-day. It was 4 days of good cooking, Christmas shopping and the love and warmth of family. I do miss it-- but not the drive.

We would eat dinner at my grandparents house. My grandfather would allow all the kids to have 1 inch of Mogan David wine. Then he would say the following grace: Hail Mary full of Turkey...Our Father ate it all. We would then dig in. One year when I was three my cousin and I threw her red Mary Janes in the fireplace. Uh Oh.

Mom was German but tried to give my father his Thanksgiving turkey no matter where we were. One tradition that was always followed was that anyone who didn't have family close by was welcome to enjoy whatever meal we had. It was usually a group of twenty plus, mostly young military and a few embassy staff, plus friends and neighbors of our resident country. Mom cooked everything. No dishes by anyone else allowed.

I remember one year, think we we were in Iran, when there was just no fowl to be had. Dad did his usual inviting of the world. Mom asked they all drop off a can of Spam the day before. She ended up with about 100 cans, which she actually sculpted to look like a turkey. The Spamkey was okay, the rest of the food was yummy and a great time was had by all.

I was always jealous of families who went to grandmother's house and had all of those wonderful traditions. It didn't dawn on me for a long time that my parents actually had traditions, they just revolved around strangers and friends rather than family.

After I was married, from the late sixties to the mid eighties we always had TWO Thanksgiving feasts. We would go to my wife's parents at noon and have a turkey and ham dinner with her family, then late afternoon we would drive a mile to my parents and have a turkey and ham feast with my family. Had to pace myself, but both get togethers were great times and great food. Now we host Thanksgiving for all the kids and grandkids, and our son's in laws join us from Minnesota.

A spam turkey shared with loved ones in Iran, I can't think of a better example of the meaning of Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing. These stories are what I enjoy most on TOTV.

That's right. You are drawing out memories. We were Catholic and when I was little the only wine brand my blue collar dad knew was Manischewitz. It came in a square bottle.
Us Catholics knew beer, pretty good. My uncle Jimmy only drank Scaffer and uncle Eddie only drank reingold. But my dad was always trying something exotic, like Balintine Ale.