All of my American readers will be frightfully busy. Kitchens will already be groaning with fresh food, the clank of saucepans being heaved up out of the pot cupboard that can never stay straight. ( Just shut the doors fast with your foot.) They will be sorting the ingredients for Gramma Emma’s special recipe for beans that must be replicated at all costs or worrying that Cousin Bob will cry into his four fat chins if they swap out the mashed something for mashed something else. And who would do that to Cousin Bob.
This is what I love about Thanksgiving. It is about people. And about People and their Food. (And, at the table of The Matriarch, a glass of lovely chilled white pinot gris.)
There are no painstakingly wrapped presents, no shopping campaigns to find something for someone who has every something you can imagine, no gaudy blowups deflating slowly outside the door, or lights flashing or not, no dressing up or guilty spending, or pressure to buy or terror of competition. Thanksgiving is not a Main street day. It is not a High Street day or a Mall day. It is a Kitchen day. It is a Dining Room day. Our Dining Room.
It is largely ignored by the money hungry Big Box Stores (who try to cash in with Black Friday .. we are having a Green Friday). In fact most of the stores already have Christmas Carols shrieking like reluctant bullies in the background. Halloween stuffed back in the store rooms with undue haste and Christmas lights blaring out into the night.
But Thanksgiving sits proudly and quietly stuffing its face, in its own house. Ignoring the ignorance of the ignorant and loving them for it too and knowing that this day is just food and family and friends. It is not tinny or commercial. We LIKE that the stores skip straight over Thanksgiving from Halloween to Christmas. Because Thanksgiving does not belong to big business, it belongs to us. You don’t have to be rich to have a lovely lovely day of Thanks. You don’t even need a big family or lots of friends. There is always something to be thankful for. Always. Even in the darkest of our dark times (and everyone has them, I could tell you stories that would take the curl straight out of your hair). There is always a lovely little glowing space for thanks, a wee shiny rock of thankfulness sat out there on a tiny sheltered shelf waiting to be seen, collected and stored in our pockets, where we can hold it in our hands like knowledge. And keep it.
Whether your gathering is large and rowdy with a Big Fat Turkey and marshmallow stuffing followed by flaming pink desserts, or a small juicy duck cooked with orange and pine nuts accompanied by roast potatoes crisped in the duck fat and a fresh spinach and lettuce salad, (that I will very thankfully gather from the garden.) Whether it is colorful and pretty or plain and tasty. Maybe just ordinary and not even particularly bright. 
It is still our Day of Giving Thanks.
Thanksgiving.
Thank you.
c
The Kitchen's Garden 
86 responses to “Day for Giving Thanks is Tomorrow”
Happy Thanksgiving Cecilia!!
You too darling, and keep that bad turkey of yours away from my pinot gris!! i just know there will be trouble. That bird cannot hold his drink! c
Perfectly said, my darling. Thanksgiving is for *people*, and that makes it better than just about any other holiday I’ve known. Hurray for giving it proper recognition, Celi.
DUCK! Oh, excuse me, did you drop on all fours behind the sofa just now? I was simply rhapsodizing about your feast-to-come. My bad. 🙂
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we’ll be going somewhat old fashioned and have just four people around the table too, and I’m thrilled with that. As I’ve told others, I feel especially thankful this year for a whole new community of blogging friends, and will feel your presence at our table too. Especially my dear Cecilia, who was first and remains strongest of my new loving supporters!
xoxo,
Kathryn
You know what.. I am such a baby.. i ducked (slightly).. You are indeed VERY BAD! Keep up the good work!!! Can’t let the side down, stiff upper lip and all that.. c
Cecilia I really like the way you describe Thanksgiving as … a kitchen day… for food family and friends. I hope you have happy and peaceful Thanksgiving.
It will be peaceful and i am almost always happy.. Life on the farm is conducive to indulgent happy. c
Lovely. Yes – kitchens, family – and I loved what you said about it being a holiday for everyone…and money doesn’t matter. Happy Thanksgiving to you!!!
Have a lovely day also gretchen, you And your family.. c
Happy Thanks Giving Day, dear Cecilia, with my love, nia
Thank you Nia, I know you are a person who appreciates their blessings, i think every day is a thanks giving day for you! I love that about you. c
A beautiful piece of writing about this holiday which we don’t celebrate in Europe, although maybe we should. Well said about people versus commercialism – we try to celebrate Christmas and New Year as uncommercially as possible. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Thanksgiving is (kind of) an honest holiday, very old fashioned and somehow unsullied by the times we live in.. we will have a lovely day, i hope you do too!! c
Beautiful written, I smiled, I laughed and I’m so thankful for you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Thank you Spice honey, I KNOW you will be having a gorgeous dinner today! c
Have a lovely day Cecilia. I think it would be kind of nice to have a national day that hasn’t been cashed in on, (even if it does involve something like marshmallow stuffing- really?!)
NO, I was being ironic about the marshmallow stuffing but I have seen marshmallows in all kinds of salads and even hot vegetable dishes..They love marshmallow in the main meals out here and I am just not sure why.. but there you are, they are very sweet (pun) old traditions.. I should find out why. Does anyone study the history of food? c
Perfectly said. Enjoy your day…the meal sounds wonderful.
We have lovely days out here and Johns Mum is working hard on her dinner, she loves thanksgiving, so i am sure it will be great.. c
Happy Thanksgiving, Cecilia 🙂
You have a great weekend too Cindy darling, smell a rose for me! c
Well said! What lovely pictures too!
Thanks for commenting on my blog so that I could discover yours!!! 🙂
The pictures kind of meant that even dark dismal days deserve thanks but I am not sure if that worked that well.. thanks Sophie and welcome.. c
You’re absolutely right.. you don’t have to have a lot of money to give thanks on this day. It’s all about family, love, and being thankful. It’s definitely not about any gifts or how rich you are.. I feel the same way about Christmas as well. Happy Thanksgiving
I wish everyone felt as you do about christmas, sometimes it becomes quite a competition! Especially with the lights!! Have a great Thanksgiving day with your people! c
happy thanks giving day!
Thank you Tandy, hope you have a lovely weekend over there in the warm.. c
Lovely summary of Thanks Giving, I know you will enjoy your day so Happy Thanks Giving.
Thank you Allison, we will. You have a great weekend too! c
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
So true, your words… and I am so glad it is not as commercialised as Christmas (unfortunately) is. I’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving this year – we are going to have friends and friends-of-friends at my place, complete with turkey, pumpkin pie and even an honorary American guest 😉
It is a nice day to celebrate, good for you looking after the honored American! (I fixed the typo for you hoping that people will do that for me along the way).. c