Of course we don't have 'Thanksgiving' here in England and our understanding of the day has been gleaned through Hollywood movies and US TV shows.
Do you all celebrate with a monster turkey and pumpkin pie? Are journeys made over many miles so families can be together . . . thinking of that Steve Martin film? If so do you have to go to work the next day or is a 'long week-end' made of it?
I'm sure such a day would add something positive to our lives in the UK.
All we hear, talk about is bad news. How obese we are, how badly behaved our young people. Don't eat such-and-such it will give you cancer, drink almost nothing except water, don't smoke, stop polluting the planet. Aren't we overrun with immigrants and paedophiles? Our hospitals are crawling with germs, elderly folk are treated with little respect. We all moan constantly.
If we all gave just one day a year to count our blessings (as you do in the US) it surely would be for the good.
Sorry this sounds like a rant . . . I'm off to shoot me a 20lb turkey.

I am so glad I've had the opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving in the US at least once. I stayed in Madison, Wisconsin for six months with my husband and our young children. To me it seemed like a Christmas without the religion, no gifts, less decorations and less fussy food. Much more peaceful than Christmas which is such a hassle in Sweden. I have more relatives on my mother's side in the US than I have in Sweden and Thanksgiving was a wonderful opportunity to meet some of them properly over a long meal of good food and wine, football on TV, sleepy talk after having stuffed ourselves to the gills. Even the long drive to Milwaukeee in sleety weather was fun with the kids singing Thanksgiving songs they'd learnt in school. I think I'll put up the paper turkeys as a reminder this year although there won't be a turkey meal.

>Do you all celebrate with a monster turkey and pumpkin pie?

Yes. At least those who can afford it

>Are journeys made over many miles so families can be together .

Yes, its very much a family holiday. Tho its also a stressful holiday for those who'd rather not be with family!

> thinking of that Steve Martin film?

Usually without the drama

>If so do you have to go to work the next day or is a 'long week-end' made of it?

Its a four day weekend. Traffic is atrotious, its one of the busiest air travel days of the year, and the day after is the first day of the Christmas shopping season. Those of us who have family at home will often opt to stay home and avoid the madness.

>All we hear, talk about is bad news. How obese we are, how badly behaved our young people. Don't eat such-and-such it will give you cancer, drink almost nothing except water, don't smoke, stop polluting the planet. Aren't we overrun with immigrants and paedophiles? Our hospitals are crawling with germs, elderly folk are treated with little respect. We all moan constantly

You think counting our blessings once a year has changed any of that one iota here? Nope. People are people, life is life. Tday teaches us to count our blessings, look at the good, and enjoy being around the people who love us and who we love (whether its real family or adopted 'family') But its not going to change human nature or our modern world.

Thanksgiving sounds like fun to me.

What is the name of the tune playing in the e-card? It's an incredibly well-known tune, but I've never known the name of it.

The tune is "Turkey in the Straw", a common old American tune tho I doubt many know the words. It usually conjures up country farms and country folk.

Yes, all the depictions of Thanksgiving are true. Traveling to see family, no matter how far, a big turkey, and lots and lots of side dishes. Stuffing (my favorite), mashed potatoes, gravy, turnips, sweet potatoes, string beans, creamed onions (ugh), squash. A relish dish. And my husband's family always has stuffed dates, for some reason.

Then come the pies--apple and pumpkin are the two necessities. By then you're dying.

And yes there are family issues which the wise always keep to themselves and vent to others when they get home. The intensity of emotion around Thanksgiving and Christmas seems to intensify emotions both good and bad. And the sadness of those no longer with us and childhood memories both happy and sad. But despite the drawbacks, you notice most people still make a huge effort to be "home for Thanksgiving".

However many of us who are together on Thanksgiving, or whichever November Day we choose to celebrate while juggling other families holiday as well, is usually a lot of fun. Yes, turkey: big enough to insure turkey sandwiches and turkey pot pie in the days after - which may be the best part of turkey! Pumpkin pie, apple pie and ice cream pie. But what my group sees as the one necessary element is my stuffing...which is soggy, buttery, oniony...and not what I grew up on...but which they insist is the only true stuffing. One was scandalized by the sacrilege at his "other family's" in his first married year...that they cook used A stuffing mix from a box.

The best part of our Thanksgiving day, in my opinion: buffet breakfast, coffee cakes (home made and warm), refrigerator danish (the ones in the tube), while watching The Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

At the beginning of dinner, a tradition was started by my daughter when she was in college - that we go around the table and each person names something he or she is thankful for. One son, and this is tradition as well, always "complains" about doing this. A year that she was not here, he said, prior to dinner..."we have to do it this year... so I can say, 'I am thankful D isn't here and we won't have to say what we are thankful for.'"

We usually have turkey, pumpkin pie and dressing (in addition to other food, but those are the must-haves). I can remember my grandmother making homemade noodles, and no one made homemade noodles quite like grandma. Yummy! My husband usually cooks the Thanksgiving dinner now (and I buy the groceries and help with clean up).

I just re-read Washington Irving's wonderful The Legend of Sleepy Hollow which some might think of as more of a Halloween tale, but I loved this description of the bounty of autumn food:

As Ichabod jogged slowly on his way, his eye, ever open to every symptom of culinary abundance, ranged with delight over the treasures of jolly autumn. On all sides he beheld vast store of apples; some hanging in oppressive opulence on the trees; some gathered into baskets and barrels for the market; others heaped up in rich piles for the cider-press. Farther on he beheld great fields of Indian corn, with its golden ears peeping from their leafy coverts, and holding out the promise of cakes and hasty-pudding; and the yellow pumpkins lying beneath them, turning up their fair round bellies to the sun, and giving ample prospects of the most luxurious of pies; and anon he passed the fragrant buckwheat fields breathing the odor of the beehive, and as he beheld them, soft anticipations stole over his mind of dainty slapjacks, well buttered, and garnished with honey or treacle...

How could I have forgotten cranberry sauce?! We make it from scratch--easy as opening a can--and I think it's our state fruit here in Massachusetts--oh, the shame.

Year ago when I lived in England (just outside London) I had three housemates who were U.S.-mad - they were over the moon when I answered their ad for a flatmate. They continually begged me to cook "American" food, including toll house cookies and streaky bacon. They all chipped in to purchase the fixings for a real Thanksgiving dinner, which they had fantasized about for some time. I bought everything at a grocery in Washington D.C. and hauled it back home to London, believe it or not. Yes, the turkey too! Luckily, they actually wanted the prepared stuff, like Pepperidge Farm stuffing, etc. so it was quite easy. The guest list kept growing and eventually I was cooking the entire spread for 12 people in a tiny, antiquated galley kitchen. The turkey was a rather modest 13-lb but it barely fit in the oven, and there were only two very small burners. But all went well and we had a great time, which they remind me of periodically when we talk or exchange emails. A very happy memory, and my favorite Thanksgiving, despite being far from family and not even in the U.S.

This year my husband is going to roast a duck - that will be new. And there will be much cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green veg, and probably squash. We won't forget the dessert either.

We're not a tetotalling household, so the champagne and other libations will flow freely.

Pretty much any excuse for a party here!

Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday. This year my in-laws are coming (from California! to Washington DC!) and my husband's great-aunt and her beau will come down from New York City! Very satisfying.

I always prepare the turkey in the BBQ grill (indirect method). It gets a beautiful mahogany color, a smokey flavor, and is very moist. Stuffing with chestnuts. Fresh cranberry and orange relish. Roasted root vegetables. A wonderful cabbage and pomegranate salad. I don't make pie, but I'm sure my mother-in-law will oblige.

It's a lovely holiday. My dear friend in Switzerland observes it with her family, having lived here in the US for several years. We share recipes.

In the early years of our marriage neither my DH nor I had immediate family close by. For many years, we gathered on Thanksgiving with friends who were in the same situation. We became like family to each other over those many Thanksgiving dinners.
One thing that we start enjoying at Thanksgiving and carry through to the New Year is eggnog - the non-alcoholic variety.

> just re-read Washington Irving's wonderful The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Thank you for posting that. Its been forever since I read it, tho it was one of my favorite stories as a kid. I need to go back to it soon.

My favorite Tday was the one where I introduced David to the family. I never ever brought friends over, let alone a guy, to family dinner, so everyone was very nice and cordial, but very very curious. He told me later my big sis kept looking over at him giving him knowing smiles. He passed with flying colors. We've had 17 Tdays since, but that one is always my favorite. (its not, as you might suspect, David's favorite tho!)

siobahn, my daughter and some friends spent a year living in Australia, and at Thanksgiving (our schedule, so in Nov) wanted to treat their friends, and some people who had helped them out, to an American Thansgiving. Many emails and phone calls for recipes...but they pulled it off. Cleaning the turkey, and finding that the neck was still attached was a big surprise for them. Hard to find some of the traditional autumn veggies during Australia'a spring as well.

A favorite Thanksgiving story of mine is "The Thanksgiving Visitor" by Truman Capote. This story is based in part on Capote's childhood, which was spent with Alabama relatives, all of whom were at least a generation older than Capote.

In the story, Buddy's(Capote's) kindly, simple minded older cousin, Miss Sook, tries to intervene in a school situation involving Buddy and a bully. Is she successful? You'll have to read the story to find out. Keep a box of tissues close at hand.

Veronicae, the first time my sister and I cooked the family Thanksgiving dinner for some 30 people (at our mother's house who resigned, saying jokingly that that's what she had daughters for), we didn't know the giblets were tucked into the turkey cavities. We only found them when we were preparing to slice it--fortunately, in the kitchen with no one else present.

Everyone was very complimentary about the dinner and particularly how moist the turkey was. We were so tickled we could hardly keep our faces straight and still laugh about it every year.

Thanksgiving signals the time eggnog will once again make its way to the grocery store refrigerator. I looked last week but alas it has yet to arrive. Because it is so fattening I put just a small amount in my coffee. That single dab signals the holiday season and I can now savor all the coffee times from November thru mid-January. Eggnog in coffee is a simple indulgence that keeps me in the holiday spirit.

No egg nog yet for us either! The hardest part each year is remembering which we brand we decided we liked best! And we don't really agree usually anyway. It's easier now with just two of us home.

When I was growing up, we didn't have any relatives who lived near enough to visit, so Thanksgiving was very much an immediate family only. My mother would spend hours fixing the dinner. We had turkey, stuffing( my favorite part, with gravy of course!), mashed potatoes, onions and peas (cooked together), cranberry sauce (homemade, not the canned stuff), and squash. Rosefolly will remind me if I've forgotten anything. I loved everything except the squash. To this day, I still don't like it. For dessert, my mother had to make the traditional (for our family, at least) pies. She made apple, pumpkin, mincemeat and (sometimes) blueberry pies. I always had trouble deciding which was my favorite.

My husband's family usually make turkey, baked potatoes (white and sweet), a gelatin salad called "sea foam", cranberry sauce (usually the canned stuff), onion pie (quite delicious), green bean casserole and a tossed salad. For dessert they usually serve chocolate pie (my personal favorite), pumpkin chocolate cake (another favorite), cheesecake and apple or banana cream pie. My brother-in-law and I always go for the chocolate pie!
Beverages include wine, apple cider, beer, milk or water, whatever each person is in the mood for. Since all apple cider in NY has to be pasteurized now, I don't drink it. Pasteurizing changes the flavor and I don't like it anymore.

Mom usually managed to add many yiddeshe dishes as well as the traditional turkey and pies. We always had matzah ball soup, challah (braided egg bread), chopped liver (hers is the only type I have ever liked), tzimmis (carrots and yams) and usually she'd make her world famous cheesecake. You didn't so much leave her house after dinner as much as roll.

My sis told me a funny story of our first Tday as a family in Phoenix. We had moved in from Boston, this was in 1961, and our apt wasn't ready for us. So we spent that weekend in a hotel on Van Buren street in down town. It wasn't so much then, bit now is well known for its lady of the night trafficking. Even back then it wasn't the best part of town. We somehow managed to have a tday dinner in the room. I was too young to remember but sis does.

Thanksgiving is a terrific holiday--much less stress and hassle compared to it's neighbor, Christmas. Growing up, we usually had dinner at my house with grandparents and occasionally other family added in. In addition to the eponymous turkey, bread stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce (how I love the canned jellied kind!) and pumpkin pie, our Polish/PA Dutch table included scalloped oysters, Cope's dried corn souffle, plain corn for the kids, sweet potato and apple saute and lots of Hershey's ice cream (my grandfather was an employee.)

Egg nog--my husband is like you, Beckola. It is in our stores now and I don't like it to come in the house until Thanksgiving. He and the children prefer right now.

OH SHOOT! I just looked at the clock on the computer--I forgot to "fall behind" and got up at 5 am on a Sunday. I thought I was getting up at 6. Anyway, I'm not big on poetry as many of you are, but I do love this one by Lydia Maria Child.

Over the river, and through the wood,
To Grandfather's house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river, and through the wood -
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose
As over the ground we go.

Over the river, and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play.
Hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ding",
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river, and through the wood
Trot fast, my dapple-gray!
Spring over the ground like a hunting-hound,
For this is Thanksgiving Day.

Over the river, and through the wood -
And straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!

Over the river, and through the wood -
Now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!