Festive Thanksgiving Feast

 

Delicious Thanksgiving Feast

Festive Thanksgiving table and autumn decor sets the stage for a fabulous meal packed full of traditional food selections. “ Thanksgiving day November 26, 2026 is the quietest day of the holiday week for air travel with just under 1.56 million people screened by TSA based on historical trends where roughly 1.56 million or 1,55 million passengers fly on Thanksgiving Day roughly half peak Sunday numbers.”

According to AAA projections for the Thanksgiving Day celebrations an estimated 81.8 million to 82 million Americans are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home. Classic traditional thanksgiving feasts typically center around roasted turkey, with stuffing paired with a collection of side dishes, beverages and desserts aimed at celebrating the year's blessings.  On average a typical Thanksgiving dinner ranges widely depending on dishes served and portion size of the meal with standard estimates landing between 3,000 to 4,000 calories including drinks, appetizers, entree, and dessert. 

Members of the Purdue University Department of Nutrition Science are here to add a little healthfulness into a meal without sacrificing taste. These healthy substitutes have been tested and mostly approved by family and friends at respective Thanksgiving tables.  While they taste great the stuffing and potatoes. Casserole and bread rolls are bland in color and packed with refined carbs.” Adding pops of colorful foods to your plate makes any meal appetizing to eat.  Adding greens like roasted brussels sprouts, green bean casserole, spinach casserole, paired with roasted carrots topped with chopped toasted pastachio nuts sprinkled on top, smashed sweet potatoes, mashed cauliflower, adds more appeal to any entree dish with low calorie options. 

In the United States Thanksgiving holiday season has been a dedicated national holiday since press Abraham Lincoln after a campaign by magazine editor Sarah Josepha Hale declared as such in 1863.  According to modern day agreement the Thanksgiving Day holiday is strongly associated with the mythological story of the English colonists Pilgrims at Plymouth and their Indian neighbors the Wampanoag who shared a meal to celebrate the harvest in 1621. 

Days of thanksgiving have been celebrated on a variety of occasions throughout American history including days of giving thanks for the ending of wars and droughts, celebrating special events like the promulgation of the Constitution.  After the establishment of the U.S. Congress the designation of Thanksgiving fell to the states as separation of state and church set out in the Constitution which would be at odds with the celebration of a religious holiday at a national level. 

It took the Civil War in 1861 and a perceived need for a gesture to build national unity for Lincoln to declare a day of Thanksgiving for the United States on October 1863 to be celebrated the following month.  The story of the first Thanksgiving began with the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag who shared harvest feats in peace in 1621.  Much of the food was provided by the Wampanoag people who included their leader Massasoit Indian Chief who maintained peaceful relations with English Settlers in the Plymouth colony which lasted for decades. 

That state of affairs deteriorated after his death as a result of tensions of the Europeans poor treatment of Native Americans and the cultural encroachment of the increasing desire for land.  The spread of nonindigenous people and the Europeans across North America that began at the Plymouth colonies and Jamestown Virginia negatively affected the historical tide of the native peoples of the continent.  The United American Indians of New England mark the annual Thanksgiving Day in alternative ways as a National Day of Morning. 

According to tradition the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock on December 21,1620 and built their first timber watchtower and fort on Burial Hill which represents defence strategies used to protect the Plymouth colony of 1620.  The harvest celebration of 1620 at Plymouth Colony documented in accounts by William Bradford and Edward Winslow consisted of a variety of meats, sea food, local produce and native crops which was shared between Wampanoag and the English settlers. 

Create a delicious lite Thanksgiving feast with all the fixings commemorating the days blessings. Thanksgiving day celebration is similar to the gratitude of festivals which is still celebrated across several countries with official holidays while other nations hold distinct harvest traditions.  In the United States Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November which focuses on family feasts consisting of roasted turkey with stuffing, side dishes, beverages, and desserts rooted in gratitude for the year's harvest in the 17th century.  Thanksgiving today is celebrated on November 26, 2026 of each year to express gratitude for the year's harvest, blessings and time spent with family and friends. 

Cheers! 

Patricia Lynn

Images Courtesy of Pixbay