Gobble Gobble

Mmm…  Tryptophan along with stuffing, cranberries, sweet potatoes, yams, and pumpkin pie!  Who doesn’t enjoy Thanksgiving?  Whether it be for family getting together, countless football games on TV, Black Friday shopping in the USA, or the extra day off of work, it’s a great welcomed holiday!

It’s generally a non-religious holiday celebrated by many North Americans but it’s origins within Canada and the USA differ greatly.  Up here in the Great White North, we celebrate this Turkey Day on the second Monday in October, usually at the close of the harvest season.  I’m nearing up on finishing my harvest, are you?  Historically, the day of Thanksgiving changed from year to year and was sometimes not celebrated at all, but on January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed: “A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October”.  Wikipedia reminder me that many Canadians partake in weekend getaways to observe the autumn leaves or participate in various outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, and hunting.  Anyone up for hunting with me this weekend?

In the USA, the Gobble Gobble Day is on the fourth Thursday of November and has been so since 1863, but was not a federal holiday until 1941.  For the Americans, it’s also a quick off to the Christmas holiday season, with Black Friday and all the day after boasting this day to be the biggest shopping day of the year (Canada’s obviously is Boxing Day!).  Most Americans celebrate by gathering at home with family or friends for a holiday feast as do us here in Canada.  Their holiday’s origins can also be traced to harvest festivals and is also tied to the deliverance of the English settlers by Native Americans after the harsh winter at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Either way, in either country, it’s all about the food, parade, traditions and television specials:

• First of all it’s all about the turkey (or tofurky if you are vegan), stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, yams with marshmallows (my specialty) cranberry sauce, other fall vegetables, and pumpkin pie.  All of these (except the marshmallows) are actually native to the Americas or were introduced as a new food source to the Europeans when they arrived to the USA.  However, we all get our dose of tryptophan which makes us very drowsy post- feast.  While turkey does contain high levels of tryptophan, the Thanksgiving sedation may have more to do with what is consumed along with the turkey, in particular carbohydrates and alcohol.
• Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, a US Thanksgiving staple since 1924 and has been on TV nationally since 1947.
• We can’t forget about Charlie Brown and his Thanksgiving Special.  The Peanuts gang make appearances for all the great holidays!
• And finally of course, there is football.  Both CFL and NFL.  I really think that this was created to get the men out of the kitchen!
• But wait, there is a new tradition started on November 19^th, 2007 that I would like to somehow incorporate in to my Thanksgiving…  Slapsgiving.  This stems from How I Met Your Mother (featuring the awesome Neil Patrick Harris portraying the legend….wait for it… dary Barney Stinson).  It’s a Thanksgiving episode and Barney is freaking out over the third slap from the Slap Bet between Marshall and Barney.  Because of the holiday, it’s decided by the slap bet commissioner that there will be no slaps on this holiday… but of course, it happens.

In the end, have a great thanksgiving, think of something you are thankful for and take two servings of dessert.

Happy Thanksgiving.