Thanksgiving: More Than the Food
Posted on November 3, 2015 by bob in EdNote
Thanksgiving was my mother-in-law’s self-declared favorite holiday. For years I never understood why. How could a holiday focused on a single meal and requiring so much pre-and-post event legwork be anyone’s #1 day of the year?
It was a feast, to be sure. Every imaginable seasonal delicacy appeared on the Corley’s Thanksgiving table (more than 20 different dishes) and all were lovingly prepared by Mama’s own hands. She’d have it no other way. There was roast turkey, of course, but also smoked turkey breast, ham, cornbread dressing, oyster dressing, sweet potato casserole, apricot salad, field peas, butter beans, celery stuffed with homemade pimento cheese, squash casserole, broccoli casserole, rice, giblet as well as plain brown gravy, cranberry sauce (the homemade kind and the store-bought jelly), and yeast rolls. To say nothing of dessert: four different varieties of homemade pies — mincemeat, pecan, pumpkin and chocolate. It was a meal fit for a king, and by the end of the afternoon, every single one of us was royally stuffed.
The mealtime company was as varied as the items on the dinner table. Mama always said everyone needed a place to go for Thanksgiving, and if anyone she knew was alone, without dinner plans, she invited them to share our meal. One year I remember as many as 36 hungry souls sidling up to the dinner table, which started in the dinning room, circled outside to the deck, and eventually spiraled downstairs. Eating in your lap was unheard of, not on this day.
As if the food prep and invitations weren’t enough, Mama pulled out all the family finery for Thanksgiving — her best silver, linens, china, and crystal. It was the only time of the year we dined in such high style.
Though my mother-in-law is no longer a physical presence in our lives, anyone who ever participated in Corley Thanksgiving remembers the warmth of the wonderful event she created. We were lucky to be a part of it and the family fellowship, thankfulness, and love that were its ultimate result. Mama’s devotion to family, and her dedication to having everyone she loved together on this special day left its mark on us all.
Only in recent years, with my own family now grown, living in different cities and headed in different directions, have I begun to fully understand the significance of making every effort to gather family together at any available opportunity. Whether it’s over a hot bowl of homemade soup, or a festive family feast, the satisfaction of having our children together again and with us seems more important now than ever before. The opportunity to share memories, renew the ties that bind us, and pass the essence of our history and heritage down to the next generation is what makes families endure.
My mother-in-law is a tough act to follow and I may never be the consummate holiday hostess she became, but I realize now what she came to understand so many years ago. The deep-in-your-soul warmth and love in having your children and grandchildren assembled and happy in your home makes planning a meal for those you love, cooking all the dishes served, and washing a few more china plates on Thanksgiving Day tasks I’ll willingly — and thankfully — undertake.
Sandra Polizos, Editor
primeeditor@gmail.com
