The American Thanksgiving holiday is associated with those religious dissidents we call Pilgrims. We envision Jennie Brownscombe’s 1914 painting, The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, with Separatists and Native Wampanoags gathered around an outdoor table, an elder raising his hands to the heavens in prayer. The painting depicts the harvest celebration in the early fall of 1621. This was not what the Separatists would have called a “thanksgiving.” For them, a thanksgiving was strictly a religious observance. The harvest celebration of 1621 was a time for the remaining 53 Pilgrims to mark their survival of the first winter in the New World.America observed no annual Thanksgiving holiday until 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln, in the midst of the Civil War, declared a national day of thanksgiving for the fourth Thursday of November. So began the tradition of gathering for a feast with family and friends. When I was a child, the men spent Thanksgiving morning hunting in the woods, while the women spent those hours cooking in the kitchen. Teen-agers attended the hotly contested high school football game between rival teams. All gathered in the afternoon for the big meal.
This year, it’s my turn to host the family feast. I’ve devised the menu. We always begin with soup. This quells appetites and gives the cook leeway in the preparation of the main meal. Traditionally, New Englanders serve a seafood chowder, followed by roasted turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, potatoes and winter squash. My family also includes baked ham because some family members don’t like turkey. The host leaves desserts to the guests. Apple and pumpkin pies are usually among the offerings.
Thanksgiving Menu
Lobster chowder with mini-corn muffins
Roasted turkey with apple-sage stuffing, cranberry sauce and gravy
Baked maple-glazed ham
Mashed potatoes, baked winter squash, roasted Brussels sprouts
Assorted desserts
Apple cider, ale and coffee
