The Spirit of Thanksgiving

This year again, like the previous, my family met with my aunts and cousins in my mother’s brother’s family in Brooklyn to celebrate Thanksgiving. This is actually a fairly new tradition. Sometime a few years ago it was just suddenly decided that we would all gather to have a Thanksgiving dinner. I really enjoyed seeing my cousins and their parents the previous two years, so I was excited this year despite all the homework.

I’m not a morning person so I was expecting to meet this year sometime around 5PM on November 22^nd. When my mother came home on the 21^st telling me to wake up at 11AM tomorrow to be at my cousin’s home by 12PM, I almost didn’t want to go. But since we only meet a few times a year, and this was a special occasion, I pushed that thought aside. When I looked at my younger brother’s displeased expression, I knew I had to push him in order to go … And I did, literally.

The next morning, he slept soundly even with the alarm ringing and my shouting. As a last resort, I pulled his blanket and threw it back at him to wake up him. When we finally arrived, we were late but no one seemed to mind. My mother’s sister’s family (with my cousin’s child who was a bit over a year old) was already here. The moment I stepped in, however, I couldn’t resist but to ask everyone, “Why are we meeting so early? Isn’t the turkey dinner at night?” To my pleasant surprise, my cousin answered, “We’re having hotpot first that’s why. Let’s start moving the table.”

I had no objections to hotpot but on Thanksgiving? It was definitely not traditional or familiar to many cultures. Everyone seemed to like a family hotpot, so why not? After setting up the table and hotpot, my cousins’ parent told us to go buy some drinks at a supermarket—quickly—before it closed in an hour (it was closing early, by 2PM for Thanksgiving). The large store was almost empty except for a few customers. I guessed most of the people were celebrating Thanksgiving with families and had done their shopping beforehand. Although the air was a little chilly, its calming nature eased my anxiety about the somewhat chaotic apartment that I was about to reenter.

Once my cousin and I entered, I noticed that my mother and my aunt had arrived – which meant it was time to eat! Since it was hotpot, my cousins bought a lot of food and vegetables to boil. In addition to a soup base package, my cousins prepared hot sauce, soy sauce, and cut scallions dipped in shrimp and soy sauce for flavoring. As for the food, there were fish balls, beef balls, shrimp balls, fried tofu (I think these were the best), sliced beef, sliced lamb, enoki mushrooms, shrimp, and assorted vegetables. They bought so much that by the time the turkey was almost ready, everyone was too full to eat anymore. Turkey with mashed potato, which was supposed to be the main dish, became the side dish.

Turkey might have been a symbol of Thanksgiving. However, it was originally meant to express gratitude and celebration. In time, it has grown to mean family reunion. And so, even though a hotpot Thanksgiving was non-traditional, it was definitely in the spirit of Thanksgiving.

Hotpot – Photo credits to http://www.absolutelyfobulous.com/2011/04/04/my-fobby-flashback-hot-pot-the-perfect-meal-for-a-rainy-cold-day/