Thanksgiving
Traditions (Option One)
I began my collegiate
journey 2.5 years ago, and that is also when I began to have my own job as
well. So this means I have not been to a family Thanksgiving in 2.5 years, and
so many things will have changed since I’ve attended this holiday with my
family (people have had kids, gotten married, etc.). So instead I’ll talk about
the Thanksgiving traditions I have at work and at home alone.
Every
year on Thanksgiving Day I either have to wait tables or write a paper. So on the occasions that I work, we do not
have a traditional Thanksgiving feast at the restaurant. The cooks fix
breakfast for us. We normally have biscuits, cheese grits, eggs, and donuts.
These are “American” foods, but not foods for Thanksgiving (traditionally).
Then once we’ve all filled our plates to the brim we all sit in the bar and
watch the Macy’s day parade. You may wonder how we have time for this on a work
day. Well our restaurant is open, but we do not serve traditional Thanksgiving
fare. So obviously we are not a hot spot on that holiday. If people go out to
eat on Thanksgiving they typically go out to find a traditional meal without
the dishes. That traditional meal is one of the things that makes this holiday
so special. You get to eat foods that you or someone else doesn’t prepare every
day. It is also a time to reflect on the blessings you have. On the
Thanksgiving days that I have a paper due instead, I just sit at home and write
the paper while watching the Macy’s Parade, the dog show, Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving, and Garfield’s Thanksgiving (I’m a huge cartoon fan). Last year I
worked on my drag queen study paper (which I presented at PKP last week). There
isn’t really any food until my parents come home and I get some of the left
overs. To top it all off I’m usually the one to make the turkey or ham the day
before Thanksgiving since my Mom always works that Wednesday. So my
Thanksgivings are never traditional any more in the sense of Siskind’s The
Invention of Thanksgiving: A Ritual of American Tradition.
In
Siskind’s article she explains the traditional Thanksgiving layout (pg. 20-22).
Women cook the food, which is not the case for me. At the restaurant most of
our cooks are men. She also says men watch violent games on TV, and this does
happen at the restaurant. When men want to get away from the family or don’t
have one, they come in on Thanksgiving and watch football. But they don’t order
anything (too stuffed), but instead they just drink beer. She also
suggests that it is a time for giving thanks and being with others. On Thanksgiving
I may not be with my family and enjoy a turkey, but I do take time to say a
long prayer and thank God for everything that I have. I know without Him I
would have nothing. So a traditional Thanksgiving is not necessary, and the main
point of the day is to give thanks. As long as that’s done, the rest doesn’t
really matter. Siskind’s view on a traditional Thanksgiving may be relevant to
some, but not so for many.
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ReplyDeleteI especially like the end of your post. The day really is supposed to be about giving thanks and that is what you do. I do have a question about whether or not you actually miss being able to celebrate Thanksgiving or not. I know you said that you have missed thanksgiving for 2.5 years and missed familial events, but do you miss the holiday? I see from your post that you stay busy, and you plan to be a neurosurgeon. I am not saying that you have no feelings, and I hope this isn't perceived as something negative. I am just asking because some people dread seeing the whole family, and some like to be busy. I feel that way about seeing one side of my family. I know it's wrong, but I don't really want to see them. Also, if you are frustrated by having to do homework over a holiday, you are not alone. I feel like they are breaks designed for us to do extended periods of homework. I haven't even planned to do anything for spring break because I know that I will have at least 4 projects to do. About the watching of the traditional Thanksgiving day programs, I am the same way. I watch the same programs every year; it's almost like seeing the leaves turn in Fall. It is odd how something so trivial could keep the holidays from feeling like the holidays.
ReplyDeleteI do miss the holiday somewhat. I miss being able to be with my parents. But with being with my parents (when I can) on Thanksgiving comes the price of dealing with the extended family as well (they don't really get me (Biology major says it all)). I miss being able to eat and talk with my parents, instead I'm eating leftovers they left behind at home. I totally agree on your comment of holiday breaks just being extension periods of homework. Over Spring Break I have 5 papers to complete. I relate to you on the extended family thing too. To them I'm the weird one that wants to pick at brains and doesn't really like children. But one of my cousins got an associates in nursing (and is not even doing a nursing job) and is all the rage. But any way enough about my issues. But don't the cartoons just kind of bring it round circle on Thanksgiving? They have become my new tradition, and every Thanksgiving I have to watch Garfield and Charlie Brown Thanksgiving specials atleast twice. I know that this holiday will never be typical for a surgeon to celebrate any ways. Happy early Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteInteresting you mention the Thanksgiving cartoons -- this year, I also ended up watching several of the Charlie Brown cartoons. Are there also narratives/myths associated with the holiday that are communicated through children's programming?
ReplyDeleteWell, clearly children aren't really creating their own Thanksgiving and ignoring the family one (like in Charlie Brown). But in most of them they do display a traditional Thanksgiving, even if the situation to get there was not so traditional.
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