My First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a unique American holiday steeped in all that is good about America. On my first Thanksgiving after moving here from Australia, I didn’t know what to expect, but this holiday quickly became as special to me as it is to most Americans.

I spent my first year feeling very strange and foreign. My then-husband and I had settled in Maine. Despite welcoming and friendly neighbors, I struggled with everything, even understanding their accents. We planned on spending our first Thanksgiving at my husband’s parents’ home in Bayside, Queens, and drove through the cold autumn countryside and arrived on Wednesday night. 

The house seemed warmer and cozier than I remembered it from previous visits. Pumpkin and apple pies were displayed on the counters, and delicious aromas of cooking permeated every corner.

In the morning we scurried around, fussing over the enormous turkey, the elaborate vegetables. (My favorite? Sweet potatoes.) Plus generous plates of stuffing, cranberry sauce, cranberry and orange relish and gravy. My mother-in-law was happy to let me add chestnut stuffing and bread sauce to the menu, and I was delighted to introduce these Aussie festive favorites to my new family. 

There is nowhere in Australia cold enough to grow cranberries, and like most Aussies I thought of cranberry sauce as something that comes from a jar. I was surprised to see a large bag of fresh cranberries emerge from the fridge. I was even more surprised to learn that cranberries, like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, grew wild near where we lived in Maine. 

My mother-in-law’s cranberry sauce was a treat, but the real find was her tart/sweet no-cook cranberry and orange relish. I immediately added it to my Christmas repertoire. (Aussies don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but we do eat roast turkey at Christmas despite December being high summer and the temperature often reaching 100°.)

There was something special in the air. The family seemed to draw closer together in the warmth and comfort of the house and food. 

My highlight was the pumpkin pie. I knew it was an American favorite but, like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, it required a leap of faith to take the first nibble. I’ve never looked back. What’s not to love about this sweet, spicy custard tart with its subtle pumpkin flavor?

After the meal, the anecdotes that make up family lore began. Like the time my husband’s aunt offered to make the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. She had bought a pre-cooked piecrust and filled it with canned mashed pumpkin and NOTHING ELSE. 

Thanksgiving is about tradition, but traditions are also a work in progress as we introduce more vegetarian mains, such as acorn squash with chestnut stuffing. This year our Thanksgiving table will have just one drumstick and small breast in addition to all the veggies. I need something to eat with the bread sauce.