Thanksgiving is a time to come together, share a meal, and celebrate gratitude in all its forms. But what makes this holiday truly special are the unique traditions and moments each person brings to the table. Whether incorporating flavors from a distant homeland, gathering around a backyard fire pit, or hosting a Friendsgiving feast, the stories of Thanksgiving are as varied as the people who celebrate it. We’re sharing the traditions and gratitude of our employees, each of whom brings something unique and meaningful to this season of thanks.
The two best Thanksgiving experiences I’ve had have been the ones outside the USA, in Spain and Bangladesh. Both experiences involved plucking the feathers from the turkey before cooking it and, needless to say, that wasn’t why they were the best Thanksgiving holidays. When you are far away from family, your friends are even more important and the ability to share a holiday meal together with new friends in a new place is special. Yes, plucking a turkey is something I’ll never forget (and don’t want to repeat), but I would love to be able to share a table with those friends who are now spread all over the world in different places, once again. So, this Thanksgiving, I’m especially thankful for my friends.
I am originally from Brazil, and we don’t have Thanksgiving there. However, when I moved to the United States I got to learn about and enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends.
Some of the traditions that my friends introduced to me initially sounded strange. For example, playing football in the snow on Thanksgiving Day seemed odd. I also did not understand some of the food combinations, such as adding marshmallows to the sweet potato casserole. After living 17 years in the United States, I came to embrace those traditions and now all those things that at first seemed strange are normal to me.
It is not easy being a foreigner and celebrating your first Thanksgiving with friends and family. I was tricked on my first Thanksgiving. My friends told me it is customary to bring a gift for everyone – which I did. This was especially funny years later when I watched Big Bang Theory and in one of the episodes, Raj’s friends did the same to him.
I enjoy cooking so I began a tradition of bringing homemade pecan pie. Over the years, I also started to incorporate a little bit of Brazil in our Thanksgiving celebration. I started to make Brazilian-style cornbread, which everyone loves and has requested every year.
Now we celebrate in Portugal. It’s a fantastic holiday and I am thankful for Thanksgiving.
Each year I always build a small fire in the backyard fire pit. And I keep it going from the time I wake up until after dessert. The fire serves no purpose other than for decoration and the fact I’ve been doing it for 10 + years now.
So, Joe is a vegan. How does that work on Thanksgiving?
First of all, I don’t judge anybody else or give them a hard time for eating whatever they’re eating. For me, dietary choice is an ecological and health decision, not an identity or a political stance.
For turkey, there are some good vegan substitutes, which you can either cook at home or buy at the store. Does it taste exactly like meat? No, but it’s good.
Other than turkey and gravy, the main non-vegan ingredient in Thanksgiving food is dairy. There are very tasty substitutes for both butter and cream. Cook a pie or vegetable dish with these, and you won’t even taste the difference.
There are a range of these products, so if someone has an allergy to gluten or soy or something, you can still have a delicious Thanksgiving.
My friends are organizing a Friendsgiving this year. It’ll be the first time we’ve ever done it, and each of us will be bringing food to make it easier on the hosts. My partner and I like to make a dish that isn’t quite a casserole or a salad. We roast halved mini–Brussels sprouts and jarred Harvard beets in the oven, then top it with toasted pecans and balsamic vinaigrette. We’ll be bringing that to Friendsgiving this year, and I’m so excited to spend the holiday with all our friends who don’t have family relatives living nearby.
I’m grateful for my partner of almost 11 years, who doesn’t let a single day go by without making me feel loved. I’m grateful for my health, and the health of all my loved ones. I’m grateful for modern medicine, and for having a job that makes me feel like a real contributor to projects and ideas. I’m grateful for my coworkers and how we support each other and get to know each other.
Growing up in New Hampshire, my mom took us all to the local orchard right before Thanksgiving each year. We picked our own apples and my mom would bake them into the apple pies she made for Thanksgiving. I always helped her mix the apples – something that was done in the largest lobster boiling pot we owned and had to be done by hand (no spoon could handle the task). To this day, her apple pie recipe is a coveted secret, but what I can say is this: no one makes a deeper dish apple pie than my mom.
When did I start loving sweet potatoes? I hated them as a child, but have come to enjoy them, especially in a pie. Growing up, we always had the traditional pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. After meeting my partner 25 years ago, I was introduced to his family’s tradition of eating sweet potato pie after the big meal. His mom made the best sweet potato pie, ever! I now make them, though mine don’t compare to hers. I have found the tastiest pies use fresh sweet potatoes from the local farmers market, and I bake the sweet potatoes thoroughly so that they are easy to mash. I don’t cut them first, but put them in the oven whole. (I’m a bit klutzy, so cutting hard sweet potatoes might end in me getting stitches, or worse.)
I’m thankful for my friends and family who accept me for who I am, quirks and all. I’m also thankful for the change of seasons in my area of the world, giving us beautiful landscapes this time of year.
As we’ve seen through these stories, Thanksgiving is more than turkey and pie; it’s a celebration of connection, creativity, and gratitude. From a Brazilian twist on cornbread to nostalgic apple-picking adventures, each tradition adds its own flavor to the holiday. This Thanksgiving, let’s take a moment to appreciate the traditions—old and new—that bring us closer to the people we cherish. No matter how you celebrate, may your Thanksgiving be filled with warmth, laughter, and, most of all, gratitude.
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