America is probably the most multi-cultural nation on Earth.
Every day we take for granted how this has improved our lives. Without all of
the immigrants that added to our national identity, we wouldn’t have green beer
one day a year! Perhaps one way to celebrate our great diversity would be to
learn about these other cultures and how they celebrate Thanksgiving, and then
taking a bit of that culture and adding it to the Thanksgiving feast.
Personally, I will never take Chinese food for granted. I love
the stuff, and it just so happens China is one of those places that has a
Thanksgiving-like celebration of its own. The August Moon Festival or
Mid-Autumn Festival is the Chinese celebration of the harvest. Unlike American
pumpkin pie, the Chinese serve moon cakes. Want to add a twist to your
Thanksgiving? Scratch the pumpkin pie and celebrate America’s diversity by
serving moon cakes! (Click
here: just one of many recipes online)
The Roman version of thanksgiving might be the second oldest
celebration of this type (as the Chinese started about 3000 years ago). The
Roman harvest festival known as Cerelia was held in honor of their deity Ceres,
the Goddess of Corn. Romans offered the first fruits of the harvest (and a few
unfortunate pigs) to their goddess in thanks. The celebration included parades
(check, we have that), games (our family has played countess games of 500 after
the big meal) and sports (yep, the NFL always has two big games on Turkey Day),
and of course a large thanksgiving feast. This is almost like deja vu! While I
can't find a recipe for you that is traditional to this event, the Romans
always liked wine... I'm just sayin'.
As a final
example, I'd like to bring up Korea. Now the Koreans take Thanksgiving to a new
level, as they celebrate it for 3 days! I hurt physically after one
Thanksgiving meal, I don't want to even think about three days of this. But,
I'd like to draw attention to how the Koreans start their celebration. The
celebration known as Chu-Sok starts with the family meeting under the
moonlight, to remember their ancestors and forefathers. This in fact, is
probably the most important thing we forget about our Thanksgiving. Those brave
pilgrims started what we have as a nation today. They endured immensely so we
could enjoy our lives today. This is a part of the Korean tradition we should
remember to incorporate in our Thanksgiving Day. Take a moment to say thanks to
all those who came before us, and offered us the riches of our lives today.
One last
thing... the Chinese moon cake recipe might have been a teaser. For a few more
recipes for the daring or adventurous, click here.
