Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Thanksgiving Traditions

Moss covered fountain,provenc

Photograph by Corey Amaro.

Happy Thanksgiving.

While you are preparing your feast: Stuffing the turkey, mashing the potatoes, pinching  ruffles on the pie crust, setting the table….

I am thinking of my family back home:

Yesterday, Chelsea called and said, "Vavie (my Mom) and I have been cooking since early this morning. We made these wonderful things, oh what are they called?" Then she shouts, "Vavie, what are those things we made that I ate?" My mother in the background says, "Yams." Chelsea laughs, "Oh, that's right, YAMS! Mom, they are the best! I ate a ton of them, I couldn't stop! So, now we have to make some more." Chelsea still is laughing, I feel her happiness, I feel I am inthe kitchen with them, then she adds, "I understand what you mean about Thanksgiving: I've already pigged out!"

 

My Mother prepares the Thanksgiving meal every year she makes (amongst a million things) are butter cookies that she cuts out with a red cookie cutter that is shaped like a turkey.

Setting the table she adds one of the turkey cut-out cookies to each of the plates.

My brother Marty (a grown man now….) traditionally sneaks into the dining room and bite off the heads to each of the turkey cookies. Crumbs, and a headless turkey cookie are part of the tradition.

Thanksgiving begins with my Mother moaning, "Marty!"

It is a tradition that I am thankful for, one of the many that my children will see this year. Their first Thanksgiving in the USA.

What traditions do you have at Thanksgiving?

 

H A P P Y   T H A N K S G I V I N G !

Comments

37 responses to “Thanksgiving Traditions”

  1. kim

    Hi Corey – I’m lucky this year because I was able to return to the United States to spend TG with my family. I’m writing this from my mother’s kitchen where we’re about to peel mountains of potatoes. But I’m thinking about my family who I’ve left back in England… always the tug. When I’m there I want to be here and when I’m here I want to be there.
    Do you have your own Thanksgiving tradition that you celebrate with your French friends and family?

    Reply
  2. Jackie

    Happy Thanksgiving! Our tradition is to go around the table having each person say what he or she is thankful for this year.
    The preceding year is “rehashed” as everyone tells a story of gratitude about an event or opportunity that particularly touched them.
    I am thankful that I was able to visit Paris with my daughter and husband…memory making at it’s finest!
    jackie
    bliss farm antiques

    Reply
  3. Irina

    Happy Thanksgiving to you, Corey, and your family in France and in the States!

    Reply
  4. Gracie

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family, in France and in Willows….

    Reply
  5. Paulita

    Corey, Your story about Chelsea eating the yams and your brother biting the head off the turkey cookies cracked me up. Sometimes our family has Thanksgiving just the five of us since my parents are far away and my husband works evenings, even on Thanksgiving. Today we will watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, we will prepare a tiramisu to take to my sister-in-law’s house, and hopefully, we will play some family games after the meal. It’s raining here, so it probably won’t be football this year.

    Reply
  6. Jeanne

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours both near and far.
    I am ever thankful everyday not just on Thanksgiving but each day of the year for all of God’s blessings and bounties.
    Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they do not unravel.
    Love you
    Thank you for YOU
    I am ever thankful for your golden gift of friendship, your kindness, and love♥

    Reply
  7. Susan

    I’m excited that your kids will be part of a Thanksgiving feast with your mom at the helm. They too will have great memories of this day. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

    Reply
  8. jend’isère

    I snitched the turkey cookie cutter from my mom, for my kids to use for the first time today. It was the very red plastic cutter I used as a girl. Heartwarming to hear how your children are discovering American traditions in situ.

    Reply
  9. Chris Kerr

    Ah Corey, what a lovely slice of Thanksgiving fun! I’m happy to hear that Chelsea is diving into the Thanksgiving traditions like a pro…yams! 🙂 And kudos to Marty, the rascal!

    Reply
  10. Natalie Thiele

    Love the headless turkey cookie tradition.
    For many, many years I spent my Thanksgivings in Carmel with a family I considered my second family. They brought sterling, china, brass candlesticks, food, food, food, and invited endless amounts of people to share it all with. It was an enormous treat with many traditions.
    The parents are now gone, the house belongs to someone else, and the siblings make other plans. Last week my husband and I drove to Carmel and saw the beautiful house. Today I will remember those good times as my husband, sister, and I have our little, cosy Thanksgiving dinner for three.

    Reply
  11. Candace

    Like you we will be spending Thanksgiving with just the two of us. My grandkids are with their mother this year and my son is with his new love and her family. I will enjoy the quiet and try not to be sad. We are cooking our turkey in the smoker over a wood fire, kind of like the pilgrims!

    Reply
  12. Laura @ 52 FLEA

    Happy Thanksgiving Corey!
    Thank you for the birthday wishes…and since my Bday often falls on Tday my memories of both special days are all mixed together. Our traditions have always included a chocolate cake along with the apple and pumpkin pies. We watch the Macy’s parade in the morning and make fun place cards for the table. Often after dinner we sit at the table and play a few games..then some of us take a walk, some watch football and some nap!
    It is wonderful for Chelsea to be able to help prepare the meal with your Mom.I wish you peace and joy this Thanksgiving. Although our family is spread out across the US….we gather as many together as possible. What a blessing family is! 🙂

    Reply
  13. Jenna

    We have drinks and chat. I can’t believe France is yamless.
    I’m sorry you are far away from home today. You know there is going to be a headless cookie on that table with your name on it.

    Reply
  14. Liz

    My Dad used to make an oyster stuffing, a recipe from his SC childhood. My Dad is gone now and the recipe went with him. None of us particularly liked the stuffing but watching him prepare it and the smell of it cooking was part of our holiday. My Mom, God-bless, was a 50s era housewife who opened cans for Thanksgiving…only the turkey, rice and that oyster stuffing was made from scratch. My sister and I are both scratch cooks by the way. Thanks, Mom!

    Reply
  15. Sugar

    We enjoy family favorites such as squash casserole and my lumpy mashed potatoes which are then finished with a warm slice of pumpkin pie topped with pecans in brown sugar and whipped cream topping. Tomorrow we will enjoy my birthday perhaps with a visit to a museum or a hike to burn off calories. Blessings to you and yours!

    Reply
  16. Bev

    Having lived overseas for many of a Thanksgiving I know what it is like to be far from family. Now that we live back in the States, still far from family, I do make a big, big dinner and then we play lots and lots of board games.

    Reply
  17. Penny

    Sometimes, our table groans with many plates, and other times the crowd is smaller, but always, ALWAYS, on our table is cranberry relish, prepared several days prior, and eaten with, well, with a great deal of relish! I’ve my mother-law’s plates and silverware, my mother’s napkins, the silver tray from our wedding, and things I have found while antiquing.
    I’m pretty traditional; turkey, stuffing, someone brings veggies, mashed potatoes and roasted sweet potatoes. This year our niece and her family join us, along with the inlaws just now boarding a plane from NYC. They are bringing a fresh loaf of Challah. Our meal will be Irish, Greek, English, Jewish, Swedish – American.
    “tis good to be thankful, wherever you are.

    Reply
  18. Kathie B.

    Corey, did you realize you’ve mentioned two aspects of your Portuguese heritage in today’s post?
    First and foremost, Chelsea calls your mother “Vavie,” clearly a corruption of “Vovó” (sometimes spelled “Vavá”), the colloquial term for “Grandma” in Portuguese (BTW, Grandpa is “Vovô”)!
    And secondly, the yam is a popular vegetable among Azoreans, as it grows well in the island climate. The Portuguese word for yam is “inhame,” pronounced roughly “in-YAHM” (not too far off from “yam”!).
    Your brother biting the heads off your mom’s turkey cookies, though? I’d rather not speculate on what that signifies, but doubtless Dr. Freud would’ve had a field-day with it 🙂
    What do other vegetarians eat for their Thanksgiving dinner main course? We make lasagne.

    Reply
  19. marie

    I totally remember uncle marty trying to eat the heads off of the bunny too! We always try to keep him away!! Hehe! I am at thanksgiving at my other grandmas. We switch off every year. This year we are pranking my little cousins! Shh! Don’t tell!!!!

    Reply
  20. georgie

    What a special memory is being created for both Chelsea and your Mom; making a Thanksgiving dinner together. Oh that Marty!
    Ours will be a very small get-together. Maternal Grandmother’s Depression glass dinner plates and sterling flatware. Paternal Grandmother’s water glasses and a tablecloth she hand crocheted before I was born. It makes it feel like they are with us even though they both passed away long ago.
    Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

    Reply
  21. Marilyn Miller

    A wonderful family tradition. Mine is black olives on each and every finger.

    Reply
  22. Kathie B.

    My Thanksgiving tradition? Homemade pecan pie (quite easy, really), almost done now. I can smell it as I type this in the far end of the house from the kitchen — what a perfume!
    When I was a child we always had holiday meals with my father’s family, who unswervingly served the same menu, including for pumpkin pie (for which I don’t especially care) and mincemeat (which Grandpa loved, but I loathe). I’d take just the smallest sliver possible of the pumpkin, then slather it with Chantilly whipped cream (sweetened with sugar and vanilla extract) — yummmm!

    Reply
  23. Kathie B.

    Should read, “including for DESSERT…”

    Reply
  24. Mo’a

    There are so many and they vary year by year…as we have lived in many places and had Thanksgivings with various friends and family.
    One thing for sure is that my son is feeling a little sad today in Denmark…Thanksgiving was always one of his favorite times of year…he loves Turkey.
    I wrote a little about one of the traditions we have had in resent years…sadly it ended this year.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you and Yan…I am sure you will find some way to celebrate.
    Do you Skype? We are watching our Danish Grandchildren grow on Skype.

    Reply
  25. nancy

    Our tradition is to fix my Mother a dessert plate with 3 kinds of pie, and then we all sit around and tease her for eating it all…and she doesn’t miss a crumb! This is the same lady that can eat 20 pancakes in a family pancake contest. One might imagine her being “plump”, but she is far from that..she’s one of the lucky ones!
    Happy Thanksgiving Corey..I know you are missing your girl.

    Reply
  26. mindi

    Happy Thanksgiving Corey!!! I just made a pumpkin crumble desert while listening to the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade in the background.

    Reply
  27. pattyg

    I grew up with cranberries out of the can. Now the tradition is to make fresh cranberry sauce which my young son loves to help out with. The popping of the berries as they simmer is exciting!
    The aroma of the turkey roasting in the oven is making me so hungry!

    Reply
  28. Gathering

    The post about you’re Turkey Child keeps coming to my mind… it makes me smile!
    Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving Corey…
    and please tell me about this photograph it is awesome!

    Reply
  29. Ida

    We don’t have a traditional Thanksgiving day, but we do have Thanksgiving at our church at the end of harvest time in June.
    Thanksgiving in the USA sounds y-u-m-m-y!!

    Reply
  30. momof5

    Happy Thanksgiving Corey. I’m thankful my kids are home. We did a 5k “turkey trot” early this am followed by the Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade. Always the same traditional foods, my husband’s grandmothers challah stuffing and homemade cranberries, as well as a few new items since my kids now love to cook. My younger daughter made a delicious roasted carrot, sweet potatoe and feta salad and my son carmalized brussel sprouts. I know you are missing your family. It’s hard to be apart on this holiday. My youngest is already thinking of next year when she will be in Asia. I’m happy your children are learning about Thanksgiving and one day they too will understand how difficult it can be to be away from family.

    Reply
  31. Hasmin Cannon

    Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Corey!

    Reply
  32. susanna

    Happy Thanksgiving, Corey! It sounds like your kids are having the BEST time in California. From following your blog for the last few years, I know how much family means to you and how you’ve really made an effort to connect your French family with your American roots. It must cheer your heart to no end knowing that your children are getting to know your side of the family better. I hope you and your FH are having a good, romantic Thanksgiving weekend in the south of France!

    Reply
  33. Kiki

    Corey, my heart goes out to you for not being able to feast together with your family…. but I am happy for your children being able to do so. Family is so important!!
    Being Swiss, I used to celebrate Thanksgiving various times, but never very elaborate. For us personally it’s a Sunday where we decorate the altar in our church with all the gifts we received throughout the year by dear mother nature and with God’s help, we thank especially for all the good things in our life and – if possible – have a meal all together. The Swiss Thanksgiving is very early, always around the 23rd of September (really early!), followed by the English later on and finishing with the American Thanksgiving, the most oppulent one, end of November….
    Same story for Mothers’ Day (Mothering Sunday in UK). The first ones are the English, followed by France and on the 2nd Sunday of May, the Swiss…. I made it great fun to ‘congratulate’ our mothers (Hero Husband’s and mine) on all those different Sundays – they got slightly confused so we stopped….
    Have a lovely, lovely Weekend, dear friend
    I shall think of all those who give their thanks this weekend and join them in my personal daily thanksgiving!

    Reply
  34. Sue Morris

    happy, albeit slightly late, thanksgiving dear Corey and thankyou again for your wonderful daily blog which have missed so much whilst I have been away from my home in Western Australia – my next holiday thogh will be back to my beloved Paris – perhaps I can come to visit you and share a cup of coffee. Hugs and smiles Sue

    Reply
  35. Orama

    I don’t bite off the heads I snap off the heads, and eat them.

    Reply
  36. ellen cassilly

    I am so happy that the kids are with your family to experience a real american thanksgiving – and sad that you are not there as well. It will be a special thing that they can tell you all about for years.

    Reply
  37. Lisa

    No one messes with my cookies LOL If I was there for Thanksgiving, Marty just might “accidentally” get locked in a closet until dinner was over 😉
    Our family tradition has always been: eat until the waistband in your stretchy pants start screaming & watch football (or ignore the football & gab in another room with the other sports haters).
    Lisa in Texas

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions