The Second Thanksgiving

With that title I reckon you’re expecting this to be about the first “day after” Thanksgiving, where Squanto teaches the Pilgrims how to make turkey tetrazzini out of the leftover meat. It’s not. Nor is this about that second year for the Pilgrims, in 1621, where the story is basically, “In the second year, they did it again.” Not much story there really. No, this is about those Thanksgiving gatherings that take place on Friday, for the “other” side of the family, after most everybody’s already had one Thanksgiving on Thursday. Yeah, everybody’s already had their annual Turkey Trot, their parade, dinner, Lions’ game, touch football in the yard, tryptophan jokes, and perhaps even a little shopping, Now it’s time to get together with the other side of the family. This is not a day without pressure. The food needs to be top notch to match what the guests had the day before. And this is tricky because those baked goods and pies are one day older. Of course, in the end, the love of family will make this a fun day for all. But this day is an unspoken chapter of America – a day where we eat and repeat (OK – no Lions’ game) the same thing as the day before. This is truly unique. No leftover Boxing Day for us – we’re starting over.

To keep things fresh, I would suggest sharing an augmented Thanksgiving story or two. For instance, did you know that Squanto purposely “lost” the cracking of the wishbone to make the Pilgrims feel more welcome? And that he also taught the Pilgrims how to make jello?