T R A D I T I O N

My favorite meal is our annual Family and Friends Feast on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. This lets everyone gather without having to choose between families. We move the furniture out of the great room and set up a long table. This year we had sixteen show up. We have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls, and salad, before pie and homemade whipped cream. My son helps with the food as he has cooked with me since he was young. Our tradition is that everyone dishes up a plate of food, finds a seat at the table and then I say a Thanksgiving blessing. Here is my prayer from 2022:

Lord of Mercies, Infinite Spirit

You made all people of every land. It is our responsibility to give thanks and respect to those who first occupied this land we are upon. We give thanks to the Tongva, the first people of this land. We offer our respect to those ancestors who may be interred in this land.

We give you thanks for this food and pray for those who this day are hungry.

We give you thanks for our family and friends and pray for those who this day are alone

We give you thanks for faith and pray for those who this day walk in fear.

Amen

After dinner, but before dessert we have the Pink Pig tradition. Years ago, my sister gifted me a peppermint pig that came with a red bag, tiny hammer, and instructions. The pig in the bag gets passed around the table and each person says something they are thankful for before tapping or striking the pig. The pig is supposed to break into pieces on the journey around the table. The first year the pig did not shatter. We put it in a ziploc and took it outside on the cement and hit it with a real hammer. It barely got dented. Since then we have used the same indestructible pig which is stuck inside a plastic storage bag. Then we have pumpkin pie with your choice of homemade whipped cream or the kind in the can or both. One new guest brought a bowl of fresh berries mixed with nuts and a pitcher of honey-yogurt dressing to pour over it. We served that as a dessert. The next week I make Smoky Turkey Corn Chowder to enjoy with my husband on Thanksgiving Day. My son and his wife have left for her family in the Bay Area and my daughter comes by for some chowder if her work is not too crazy. Three good friends count on me to give them a container of chowder to enjoy. Post pandemic people are busy once again, so I will send a save the date email right after Labor Day.

— KathyV