Holiday traditions: THANKS for the memories

From My Perspective

By Toni Walker

Editor

news@steelcountrybee.com

Thanksgiving signals the start of one of the busiest times of the year. With three holidays in the span of a month, it is easy to get caught up in all of the hustle and bustle that comes with the season. But it is important to remember what makes the holiday season so special.

Food: What is Thanksgiving without food? In all honesty, what is Christmas without food, as well? Yes, Thanksgiving centers on the food we share, but I do not know of any family that gets together at Christmas that does not have a full spread! And when I say spread, I mean it. Turkey, ham, gravy, dressing, potatoes (both sweet and mashed!), cranberry sauce; you name it, and it could probably be found on our table at some point. As a matter of fact, I am pretty sure there were a couple of years there were probably even squirrel as part of the Thanksgiving meal. We have even eaten crab, shrimp, and fish! My Papaw Neal (my mother’s father) was an avid trapper. I can remember pictures of him with 15 to 20 coons he had trapped. He would always tell me that coon meat sold best around the holidays. (I took him at his word, but I are fairly positive that may be one thing we never had on our table!) And just because the “meal” was done, that did not mean that the eating was over. We had a saying at my mother’s parent’s house: “Just throw the tarp over it!” The “tarp” was usually a bedsheet, but you get the point. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and everyone else could be seen sneaking a snack from under the “tarp” for the rest of the day!

Football: Ok, so maybe not everyone is as big a sports fan as my family. But, football was always the tradition at our family Thanksgiving get-togethers. Belly’s full, it was time to settle in for some football. Now, everyone knows that turkey has tryptophan in it, and that tryptophan makes your sleepy, right? Couple that turkey with a warm living room and football on the television and, well, let’s just say I am not sure exactly how much football was “watched.”

Family: Holidays are nothing without family. Some of my best memories of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even New Year’s, include my family. At Thanksgiving, no matter which grandparents’ house we were at, there was always more family than you could shake a stick at. There was family that we only got to see at those special times of the year, and there were those that were present any time there was food on the table! But it didn’t matter how often we got together. What mattered is that we were together at this special time of the year. Previous quarrels, disagreements, and differences faded into the background, if only for those few hours on those special days.

As I get older, I am beginning to feel the need to keep these traditions alive. The older members of my families are getting older and passing away. Some of these exact traditions may not be able to be kept going, and I have decided that is ok. It is our responsibility to form traditions for our kids, so that they have memories when they become our age. Then, the torch will pass to them to form and carry on traditions for their families.