When I was a kid, up until about my fourth wedding anniversary, my family had tacos for Thanksgiving dinner. Yep, tacos. And no, not turkey tacos. Just regular tacos with lots of homemade guacamole and salsa and all the fixin's. Sometimes we'd go crazy and add an enchilada casserole to the mix.
Why tacos, of all blasphemous things? Well, I am an only child and my extended family was far-flung, so it was often just the three of us for Thanksgiving dinner. With only three people, a traditional Thanksgiving spread would last in left-over form well past the point of being novel. And while turkey is OK, it seemed like a whole mess of work with more time spent in the kitchen than in the family room. So one year, the three of us looked at each other and decided "Let's have something we REALLY like. Let's have tacos!"
It was actually quite fun, that first year especially, to buck the trend and have our own [Maiden Name] Family Tradition. In a weird way, it made the holiday more special because it was us, our family, being together doing something that was very uniquely us. Goofy? Weird? Just plain wrong? Sure, maybe. And honestly, that was Rob's reaction when he first got folded into my family. He's much more of a traditionalist -- and a much bigger turkey fan -- than I am so he sort of got bent out of shape when I casually explained we would be having tacos on Thanksgiving.
We tried various compromises each year but none seemed to really fit. It finally got settled after about the fourth year of married life when my parents and I were eating tacos on one end of the table, and Rob was on the other end of the table eating a little turkey dinner he had prepared himself. I looked at him, looked at the table, and realized our struggle with holiday traditions was having exactly the opposite effect we were seeking. Instead of being together, sharing a meal, sharing a tradition, being a FAMILY...a line was almost literally drawn down the table. Since that year, we have changed our tradition to be Traditional Thanksgiving Meal on Thursday and Tacos, Tacos, Tacos on Friday -- or whenever it works with travel and other plans. Truly, as I've learned, the food and day do not matter so much as the feeling of family, togetherness, and tradition - however you define it.
7 comments:
As one of the 3 family members who initiated Thanksgiving Tacos, I see absolutely nothing goofy or weird about our tradition. It DID make our dear son-in-law wonder what he had gotten himself into that first Thanksgiving with us, though. We've had several variations during the years, but last week's dinner was a "first" - even for US. Me, your Dad and Grandma celebrated Thanksgiving by eating corned beef and cabbage. It was delicious! Our dessert was applesauce. We really bucked tradition by not having anything pumpkin on the table. In fact, the only pumpkin that was consumed during the Thanksgiving weekend was when Grandma and I had Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks on Saturday. YUM!
So -- there you go. Another "maybe new Thanksgiving tradition". In the years to come we might put the turkey roasting pan away and bring out the crock pot for Thanksgiving -- with our family, 'ya just never know!
Love, Mom
Sounds like a nice compromise, Toni!
I wouldn't miss turkey much myself, but stuffing and sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie? Those are what I'd miss. :-)
Cara
You need to tell everyone about the Turkey Lump story!
Oh, dear. It's a sign of age. I have a Turkey Lump story?? Is it that we are rather intimidated by a big ol' turkey with legs and that little package-o-fun and instead prefer to cook what we lovingly call a Turkey Lump?
For those not in the know, a Turkey Lump is one of those cute little balls of turkey in which the bones have been removed and then all the turkey meat is smushed back together in a lump. While you don't get that Martha Stewart-ish look on the table with turkey legs and stuffed stuffing, you DO get light and dark meat and a meal done mostly on time. Oh, and you avoid those icky gizzard things. Maybe it's called a "turkey roast" by the rest of the planet?
Yep. That's it :o) It was especially amusing when it was your first time venturing away from the safety of tacos. I feel like there were side dish issues too!
Man, your memory is WAY too good, Eileen! Yeah, yeah. That was the same year I learned that dried dill is a LOT more potent than fresh dill and you can't substitute one-for-one in a mashed potato recipe. And that if you leave a glass parfait dish in the freezer too long, your pumpkin mousse will get decorated with glass shards.
Oh, what a polite and understanding family I have! And friends with razor sharp memories! :-)
You forget that your stories were much more interesting than tracking public opinions :o)
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