BRITISH REACT TO AMERICAN THANKSGIVING!
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- We Brits have no idea what Thanksgiving is all about. We've heard that it happens every year and it's basically a mini-Christmas, just without the presents and Santa Claus. We often get asked "What do Brits think about Thanksgiving", so here we are reacting to Thanksgiving videos on RUclips!
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The reason there is so much food even for that size of a family is because leftovers is literally part of the holiday.
One of the best parts of Thanksgiving is making turkey noodle soup and turkey sandwiches for the whole week afterward.
Right! There is nothing better than eating leftovers for the week after,
. It’s like thanksgiving for 7 days
Yes we love too eat thanksgiving leftovers all week lol
Omg, Turkey sandwiches from the leftovers are what I look forward to, and of course, the pies and other sweets.
Why it’s on Thursday, lol! You eat it for the three days after.
"Green bean casserole?"
"That must be a vegetarian option."
I about died. LOL :D
"burnt cheese in a good way" It is crispy fried shallots
Not shallots those are French fried onions.
Didn't have the heart to tell Joel they have Mushroom Soup in it. In can either have French fried onions or shallots!
I’ve never seen it with shallots just the French fried onions I don’t eat it not a huge fan of green beans.
It's vegetarian but not vegan
"Where are the steamed vegetables?" Thanksgiving is NO PLACE for healthy dishes.
Hersson Preciado I agree with this statement. Pumpkin pie is THE best part!
This!!!!
Yes!
I'm a registered dietitian, but I still agree with this 100%!
"Is that a raw vegetable? Without cream, cheese or butter? How did you get here?"
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.There are no expectations except fellowship with family and friends and great food. I am proud to be an American, and thankful to live here with so many freedoms.
Your said it! 👏👏
How can you be proud? I guess you can continued living your brainwashed life with your pagan lifestyle. You Americans are something else.
@@volt6008 I am black, daughter of immigrants, mostly liberal and I'm a proud American 🇺🇸
@@volt6008 I'm incredibly proud of being American, thats something that can't be taken away from me :D
And your freedoms are...?
The more I watch these types of videos the more I realize how glad I am to be American.
I feel like it has the opposite effect on me. I want to move to the UK.
Americans love holidays and celebrations, makes me happy to be American too 😉
pndaaa it’s just a shame that Americans hardly have any holidays compared with the almost ‘month off’ that most Europeans get
@Sheila Koala That's why you have an insane amount of Americans trying to move to England 🙄...not! Snobby class systems and pretentious royals is nothing America is jealous of.
Me too!!!!
A lot of families eat buffet style because they don’t have room to formally seat everyone attending. It is an extended family holiday.
When I was a kid, the buffet was on the dining room table, a separate table was set up for the kids, and the adults generally ate in the living room while watching the parade.
We're also not all plantation owners and don't have butlers to serve us.
In my house we have at least 20+ people for Thanksgiving. We have a 8 seated table. The elders sit at the table. Everyone else is a free for all. We have people sitting outside, eating in the counter and on lamp tables. Nothing formal for the holidays. Basically a family reunion without the extended family.
If the dining table is ‘formal’ then where do you eat normally for any random day ?
Generally speaking, these foods are reserved for thanksgiving.
Generally speaking Thanksgiving is putting 10 times as much food on the table as you normally do. Then we all get good and rip roaring drunk, pull our 6 shooters out of our waistbands, fire them into the ceiling while shouting 'Murica! OK maybe it doesn't get that out of control. But almost. Someone in the family has to start a blood feud at least.
Generally reserve turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas, but smoked turkey legs work well any time of year
Many folks live Thanksgiving more than Christmas because it is less commercialized. Just about the family, food and thankfulness!!!
For me, it's basically the same holiday, but Xmas has more decorations and we don't do a turkey. Usually tenderloins or roast beef.
Not everyone in the US is Christian, so Thanksgiving is a holiday we can all share together, regardless of our religion.
When the Pilgrims first arrived in the New World, they had a horrific journey across the Atlantic, full of delays and insane winter storms at sea. All they had left to eat was hard tack, which was just hard bread dough. And it was infected with weevils-yuck! By the time they got here they were really weak from the journey and the lack of Vitamin C from not eating any fruits or vegetables. The first winter most died of scurvy-apparently a really bad way to go. The Native Americans saw these English people suffering and dying, and actually took pity on them. When Spring came some Native Americans befriended the settlers and gave them corn (maize) seeds and showed them how to plant this new crop. (Hint: they put a dead fish in each hole before planting the corn seed). When Fall arrived (we say “Fall”, which is the Middle English word for Autumn), there was a bountiful harvest of all the crops. Plenty to put away and survive on through the winter. To thank their Native American friends for all their help, the settlers invited them to a big feast. And that was the first “Thanksgiving”. Because they were giving thanks for surviving and now thriving.
P.S. In part because of the massive first winter deaths from scurvy of the Pilgrims in the New World, the English began to realize they had to improve their diet on these long journeys across oceans. Without refrigeration they had to be creative in transporting fruits and vegetables. The sailors began putting pots all over the decks full of small lime trees. They were fairly hearty and could withstand the rigors of being shipboard. Sailors used to suck on limes for the Vitamin C. English Sailors became known for their love of limes and lime trees, and so other countries gave them the nickname of “Limey’s”. Don’t know if you know that nickname in England, but growing up in America I heard it often enough.
Mary Anne Brown Thanks for the insight about the term Limey, I did not know where that term came from. Very interesting!
While they were thankful to the Native Americans, you really should read the original Thanksgiving Proclamation (1676). And I quote; "The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour..."
Further read the Continental Congress Thanksgiving Proclamation (1782), George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation (1789), and Abraham Lincolns Thanksgiving Proclamation (1863); all clearly and unambiguously are giving thanks to God. Just because you don't like that fact, does not give you license to so carelessly change the true history and meaning of that day.
The Pilgrims were escaping religious (and other types of) persecution from the king of England. They wanted to worship God in their own way, not the way he commanded. Failure to obey his rigid laws could have meant imprisonment or worse.
@@shanehanson6013 Well stated FACTS!!! 👍👍HAPPY THANKSGIVING and God Bless you and yours.
Shane Hanson Um..what? Was that last line in your response meant for me? About me not personally liking that the Pilgrims were celebrating Thanksgiving as a means to give thanks to God? Where did you ever read or understand that in what I wrote? I never said anything about God at all-that doesn’t mean that Thanksgiving was not about them thanking God for a beautiful harvest and alliance with the Native Americans. To me that is just a given they would be giving prayers of thanks to the Lord-they were Pilgrims, after all. Fleeing religious persecution from King James I, who was the head of the Protestant Church in England. The same King James I who did not want dissenting Catholics or breakaway Protestant faiths. You do know that the Pilgrims did not emigrate directly from England to the New World, correct? They had already mostly left England and were living in exile in Holland. But the political situation in Holland changed and was no longer favorable and they felt they had no where else to go except the New World. I cannot even imagine what those poor people went through. They must have had very strong faith indeed.
We generally don’t worry about healthy food at Thanksgiving. It’s all Comfort Food! 😂
I've always said that when it comes to Thanksgiving, all BS goes out the window.
We generally don't worry about healthy food ever, really.
It is right before winter. You want to store more fat during winter.
@David Santosuosso thank you it covers all food groups.
Karen S comfort food is healthy
By the way... Thanksgiving became an official National Holiday in 1863 by a proclamation from Abraham Lincoln. So, in the middle of the bloodiest war in America’s history, in which more Americans died than in all our other wars COMBINED, the president asked us to set aside a day to give thanks for our blessings. Think about that for a minute.
Damn
Oh jolly good.
On the first official Thanksgiving Day 1863 the Confederate Armies held their fire and did not attack out of respect.
This is one of the more beautiful stories in American history.
U lie !!
No, Thanksgiving doesn't take anything away from Christmas, it just gets us in the mood for Christmas. A lot of people start decorating for Christmas right after thanksgiving. ;)
And of course, BLACK FRIDAY!!
I don't think Thanksgiving takes away from Christmas either. Personally, thanksgiving has always been acknowledging all good things that G-d has given to us.
Oh god no, theres no way to do this every week. Some people actually take a week just to get everything ready. Its definitely a once a year event.
True, my mom's been marinating the Turkey for like almost 2 days. It's a lot to prepare
Right, too much work is involved. That's part of what makes Thanksgiving special.
Its not really all that much trouble for me because all I’m craving on Thanksgiving is the basics; turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, some kind of vegetable dish, and the pumpkin pie of course. Like many Americans I tend to only crave the things that I had as a kid on Thanksgiving (in the 1960’s in my case). These days however the dizzying area of dishes that some people prepare for Thanksgiving just boggles the mind. Anyway for me the most labor-intensive part of the meal is probably making the piecrusts. Of course I always bake the pies the night before, which is also when I start brining the turkey, and this leaves me with a lot less to worry about the next day. And while I could certainly do this every week or so I never would because one of the things that makes the Thanksgiving feast so special is that it only comes once a year.
@@SLOBeachboy That is a correct summary of what a normal Thnksgiving feast should be and I'd be happy with only that for dinner but nowadays people want to add other pies, ham and a different array of side dishes. The more people there is the more types of food there is.
@@Farming101 this is definitely what it has become... thank you for informing the Brits and posting this!
"Some people put milk in their mash" ummmmm everyone does!!!! Milk and butter!!!! And to make it really special for Thanksgiving, it would be heavy cream maybe!
Oh yes, heavy cream and real butter in the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes. We have potatoes cakes for brunch on Black Friday with the leftovers. The leftovers are always awesome too. We just move the family gathering to another house on Friday, bring the leftovers and play board games.
I use sour cream and butter in my mashed potatoes.
My family uses cream cheese and a little milk to thin the mash.
Yes, Milk and butter and sometimes I sneak in some cream cheese.
Little Flower Doesn’t everyone do that? 😜
When I was growing up, everyone sat around the table. I think the casual seating evolved from not having enough seating for everyone in large family gatherings.
And televisions. Nowadays everyone has to be watching the television and usually the annual NFL football game which inevitably has the Detroit Lions featured as the losing team.
I agree. It is because the family out grows the table.
We had the adults at big tables and children at card tables.
My family still does that.
yeah too many people and dishes lead to everyone eating scattered around the house.
I'm pretty sure the "light gravy" was turkey gravy, which is always that color (or "colour" for you).
🤣🤣🤣….& every Thanksgiving Dinner has some primary dishes in common, then some side dishes & add-ons that are culturally-specific or even from family-to-family, including the gravy which can vary based upon the cook’s tastes & what the family likes.
Right Turkey is a white meat
I've seen other people reacting to American foods/holidays and the people reacting always seem surprised by any gravy that isn't dark beef gravy. I know sausage gravy is a Southern US thing but I would have though poultry gravy would be more universal.
Yeah, homemade Turkey (or chicken for that matter) gravy is always a light color. Any homemade gravy should take on the color of the meat it’s made from. If you make sauce from blueberries is it red? No, it’s a blueish-purple color because that’s the color of the blueberries. Homemade gravy is essentially meat sauce that’s been thickened up with flour (or cornstarch). Also, homemade gravy is mostly there to go on top of the mashed potatoes not necessarily for the meat.
@@ImSpun13 what? I put the turkey gravy on top of my turkey and my mashed potatoes and a little on the snothin
Dark brown gravy in America is usually only served with beef or pork. We have turkey gravy and chicken gravy which is light.
Caitlin Crisp my Turkey gravy is dark since the roast Turkey is dark! Never ever heard of Frog eye salad
@@victoriarobinson9016 - Riiight?! Frog eye salad?! What the heck is that? Never heard of it. I'm Texan.
Thanksgiving is less about the food that we make, which, other than a full roast turkey, aren't necessarily unique to the holiday, but it's a feast to celebrate the harvest. The mythology is that after the Native Americans helped the pilgrims survive the winter and make it through the harvest, the two groups came together to celebrate. That's the highlight reel. The actual history is a lot darker. And turkey wasn't part of the original meal.
Dina del Valle Thank you!
Thanksgiving is right before winter starts hah
Aracelis Morales Garcia de Ramos I think she meant less about the specific foods. Each family has their own traditions although turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes are very common.
@Rhiahl I believe it's the fourth Thursday of November. Usually the fourth Th is the last Th but this year we have one more left.
@Rhiahl I actually had to look it up myself because it seemed like it came so early this year. Happy Birthday to you and your dad.
you guys calling thanksgiving informal is the funniest thing ever because its the fanciest thing we do all year.
When the English pilgrims first came to this country a lot of them starved to death before ships could bring more supplies. It was the Indians who tought them or helped them to grow corn and other things. Thanksgiving is in the fall because of harvest. The pilgrims invited the Indians to share a meal with the bounty of their harvest. Turkey was the new food and game they hunted. That's why turkey is associated with Thanksgiving. This is why family and friends get together on Thanksgiving. Its been a long time since I read this in grade school. But it's close. Every household will usually have the same basic theme, but can be somewhat different depending on what region and family recipe's that there are.
Charles Lewis this is completely wrong factually. Commercially it’s close. But historically way wrong.
and then we killed and displaced all of them in thanks
This is the most accurate description of the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
Dillan Tyler not even close
So that's mostly true, the first Thanksgiving actually was a feast thrown by the pilgrims, then the neighboring natives found out about it, and the pilgrims invited them to dine together at that point.
I've never found Thanksgiving to take away from Christmas. It complements it. It's nifty if you have a significant other because you can plan to do Thanksgiving with your family and Christmas with your significant other's family. Rather than alternate years or manipulating your schedule to travel for two Christmases. Thanksgiving also kicks off the Christmas shopping season. Stores have massive discounts on "Black Friday" which is the day after Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving is also when it is generally seen as the right time to start getting out your Christmas decorations... so it serves as a transition between Fall and Winter.
Thanksgiving food varies **widely**. You will see regional differences as well as differences among racial/ethnic groups. The food you saw was the traditional foods that (white) people tend to associate with Thanksgiving. But a Mexican-American family or an African-American family may have some dishes that reflect their heritage. A friend of mine who is of Italian-American heritage has pasta at her family's Thanksgiving. Really, the kind of food is not as important as the values behind it, which is to see and appreciate your friends and family.
You can probably make something pretty close to pumpkin pie with any kind of squash. The pumpkin doesn't really offer any flavor. The pumpkin pie flavor comes from the spices (e.g., cinnamon, nutmeg) that go into the pie mix.
When I was growing up we always had jalapeños and tortillas at the Thanksgiving table. My parents always had the turkey and mashed potatoes but no gravy or cranberry sauce (Mexicans aren't accustomed to that). When I became an adult and expanded my horizons, I learned to like my cranberry sauce and gravy with Thanksgiving dinner. We always had dinner rolls, though, and eventually we ditched the tortillas and jalapeños. Not for good, we still have them with our Mexican food, lol!
You ain't kiddin with "regional differencs"!
I'd never heard of eatin macaroni & cheese with thanksgiving dinner!
Not until i met a southern man & his family anyway😜
Apparently it's a southern thing. And it's not the same as kraft mac N cheese you have with hot dogs for lunch 😮😃😮
This stuff is BAKED! I added some crumbled bacon & bread crumbs to mine this year. My hubby couldn't stay out of it! 😍😍
I'm not a huge fan of the jellied cranberry sauce in a can, but it certainly seems to be on a LOT of tables- both northern & southern 😉
@@heatherfantana1912 many families have macaroni & cheese in the Midwest for Thanksgiving as well and it's a popular side dish throughout the year in most homes and restaurants that serve "country" and "soul" foods like fried chicken. Its typically always homemade (like you described) or Velvetta for convenience. Only kids eat Kraft Macaroni with that powdered cheese...GROSS!
I'm southern and I'd never have Mac and cheese at Thanksgiving.
@@someonerandom256 Not even when there are kids at the table? Sometimes it was the only thing toddlers would eat.
The phase "I love Cool Whip" disqualifies you from any claim to food snobbery.
Charles Henry Bell - Real whipped cream only!
@@paulboy9101 I don't think they know what Cool Whip really is. lol
Now, now! Cool whip has its place, well only one I can think of...Watergate Salad.
For us lactose intolerant folk, Cool Whip is a cheap way to get some white fluff on our dessert.
She didn't, he had had it.@@LeoTheShortGuy
BTW: sweet potato and yams are two different things, but most people use the names interchangeably.
#truth
Yes, I find it interesting that you can buy fresh sweet potatoes and yams that are correctly marked but, if you read the ingredients on a can of yams, it's sweet potatoes not yams.
@@chiprbob there are sweet potatoes it's just a name if you wanna get technical yams are ginormous roots growing in Africa everything in America so sweet potato
@@johncremeans969 It's not just a name, sweet potatoes and yams are two different things.
Yea depends on the area and the family what they cook tbh
Thanksgiving is usually more low-key than Christmas. It comes before all the crazy Christmas shopping, and there’s no stress about gifts. Just the coming together of family and friends to be thankful.
So, it is part of Christmas? I still don't get it. As a Brit, this is hard to grasp.
Thanksgiving is not part of Christmas. Retail stores have expanded shopping for Christmas to the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a legal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. The following Friday is called black Friday and now begins the shopping season.
@@VerbaleMondo No. It is a holiday based on what happened to the first settlers in what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts. As the story goes, the pilgrims were a very religious group of Protestant Christians called Puritans who came here to escape religious persecution in England during the 1600s. Their first Winter here was very difficult and many people died. The next Spring, they and the natives befriended each other and the natives taught them how to grow maize (an early variety of corn), beans, and other local crops. When harvest time came, they were thankful to God and the natives for the success of the crops. They invited the natives for a feast to celebrate. I think it's so unfortunate that English students are not taught early American history. I suspect "the powers that be" don't want you guys to learn about revolution and freedom. They are afraid of this particular history repeating itself. ;-)
@@VerbaleMondo it's not part of Christmas. It's completely separate. Thanksgiving signifies end of our harvest season so we come together to eat all the good food and be thankful haha. I'm from the US and Thanksgiving is in November but Canada also has a Thanksgiving but it's a month earlier because their haven't season is earlier than ours. Hope that helps explain it!
@@1stAmbientGrl Yes, like the part where the settlers turn around and rape and slaughter the native Americans.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are both equally important to us.
Dont speak for all of us. The US is a prodominently christian nation any christian why truly walks in the ways of jesus well you that they christmas is way more important than thanksgiving.
@@noahdixon885 Jesus isn't even the most important part of Christmas
Nunnie Wait are you serious?!!😂😂😂(I hope your joking...even though a lot of people use it as a chance to get gifts it is all about Jesus because it was the day Jesus was born)😂😂👌🏽👌🏽
@@aaliyahstevenson2291 Most religious scholars don't believe he was born on christmas base on the clothes mentioned.
I prefer Halloween. Thanksgiving is mostly about Christmas now anyway, with Black Friday sales starting on Thanksgiving.
J&L, I'm sorry that the two of you are having a hard time understanding the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. In a nutshell, Thanksgiving began with the Pilgrims who landed in what is now Massachusetts. The feast of Thanksgiving was their way of giving thanks to God for surviving a brutal first winter in the New World. Many Pilgrims died during their first winter in the New World. When spring came, the local Indian tribes showed the Pilgrims what to plant and how to hunt wild game in the area so they would survive. After a bountiful harvest the following autumn, they decided to have a harvest feast of "Thanksgiving" to give thanks to God for their survival. The idea of giving thanks during a autumn harvest basically remained unchanged through the years. It was Abraham Lincoln who established the precedent of the 4th Thursday in November as a day of Thanksgiving. FDR tried changing the time in November but was unsuccessful and it was reestablished as the 4th Thursday in November. Thanksgiving has become a time for people all over the US to return home to be with family and to share a delicious meal with the ones they love. Just check out US news reports that show how the highways, airports and train stations all across the country become madhouses with people trying to get to be with family and loved ones and how the Sunday afterwards is in reverse with those same people going back to where they currently reside. If the two of you were here, I (along with countless others) would be graciously inviting you into our homes to share Thanksgiving dinner with us. We'd start out the day watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on tv, then sharing a delicious meal and then spending the rest of the day digesting the day's meal watching football! (BTW, I make a mean green bean casserole!)
Phillip Branch that’s a very thorough explanation. Good job!👍🏼
Phillip Branch you rule.
Real research will provide them this info. It's not difficult to actually educate yourself especially with the new fancy laptop they bought
They don't care. Its easy enough to do a bit of research or watch a doc. Its all about making supposedly funny comments about the oddities of American life.
You just watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special, didn't you?!
Thanksgiving is like Christmas’s side kick it like helps start up the holiday season
Mikey......it's sad that you think that. ::sigh:: It's more a thanks for all the blessings of the year, and asking for more for the year to come. It's about being with family even if it is just one or two days. Does Christmas really need a start up? Just go to the store if you need that. They start putting out stuff the day after Halloween. No need to spent over twenty dollars for a turkey to do that. Get a freaking TV dinner.
The reason we have Thanksgiving is literally to give thanks for all of the blessings we have as Americans. It is based on the first harvest feast after the native Americans helped the pilgrims survive and taught them how to farm corn and other crops that could be raised in Massachusetts. It showed what could be between our cultures.
You sure? The natives tell a different story.
I mean there was lots of killing some rapping too and slavery
@@lameidk4209, yeah, but that wasn’t until later.
@@lameidk4209 That was years later. Not the same group of people either.
@@lameidk4209 you must be a real hoot at parties 🥳
Thanksgiving at my house is MASSIVE. It's only one time out the year where you get to have pecan pie, sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie and have ALL the pies for Thanksgiving lined up.
We got a 22 lb turkey this year. Not sure how much the ham weighs.
We have enough food to feed the main four people in the house. Anyone visiting. Then we have about three extra plates for the disabled lady down the street. And still more leftovers to last the week.
Sometimes we get too much ham and have to take it to work.
Giving is in the name of Thanksgiving. Your thankful for those around you, and in return give back. That's the whole point really of Thanksgiving. Just cook a whole bunch of food, invite a whole bunch of people, line it up on the table then let everyone loose to eat and watch Football.
Christin S. This is exactly correct. The bickering, the shouts of laughter, the joy. All of it, the work and the food and the love. AMERICA.
Also, RHE PIE. Me oh my, I love pie! At no other time do you get a slice of homemade pie with your coffee for breakfast!
Your Thanksgiving sounds more like mine! I have a table that seats 12 and it is filled from end to end with food and I have to have a 4 shelf bookshelf for all the pies! But my family, including great grandparents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren makes it 28 people for Thanksgiving! I finish cleaning up just in time for Christmas! 🤣
Cool story. We eat paint chips.
@Cannabis Dreams Never mind any of that, where's the *mince* pie??
Never ever heard of Frog Eye salad in my life and I've lived in various parts of the USA.
Me neither. What the heck?
Just looked up the recipe, it sounds disgusting. I have never heard of it either.
About 25 years ago I worked in a deli and we served frog eye salad. It’s acini pasta with mini marshmallows and whip cream
@@jennybird6268 So...like a weird version of ambrosia, I guess?
@@jennybird6268 lol, thanks for the explanation; I'm in Oklahoma but have been all over the country n I've totally never heard of it 🙂🎄🙂
The origins of "thanksgiving" were basically a celebration of bountiful harvest. Nothing to do with christmas. Nothing to do with patriotism. Just gratitude for the ability to provide and share.
You keep comparing it to a roast dinner. We have Sunday dinners as well. It is not the same as Thanksgiving. As far as gravy goes, you match the meat. You don't have brown gravy with turkey or ham. It is turkey and not chicken. That is why it is so big..lol
There is chicken/bird gravy that is brown btw, so yes you do have brown gravy with turkey. Ham as well. What other colour gravy is there haha
@@user-ww3rm3mz3i beige and white
@@user-ww3rm3mz3i There is white gravy, brown gravy, and dark gravy. Brown and Dark gravy are usually pretty thin, and sometimes "soupy" compared to white gravies, which are usually very thick and hearty. For the record, I only eat mashed potatoes with white "pepper" gravy.
I was speaking from a UK perspective that you can get brown gravy from birds. Can I ask what goes into your white gravies? Surely if it was white there would need to be some cream or something that goes in?Just because in england gravy is made predominantly from the juices of the meat (there are some veggie alternatives) and that's what makes the brown colour for us. The thickness depends on taste really, I tend to have thicker gravy when I know others like it v think.
@@user-ww3rm3mz3i This is a good "pepper" gravy, also called a "country" style gravy (ruclips.net/video/kNRstG8hPs4/видео.html), which is a must have ingredient for mashed potatoes and yeast rolls - also, you can substitute out the flour, for corn starch, and make it MUCH smoother, and less clumpy... at most fast food places, such as McDonalds, BurgerKing, Wendy's, Krystal's, Hardee's, ect... you can order a "gravy biscuit", and 99% of the time, you will get a white sausage gravy - which is basically just pepper gravy with chunks of pork sausage added to it. I've also had white beef gravy, and white rabbit and white squirrel gravy. White Rabbit and Squirrel gravies are delicious, but much harder to get your hands on.
I’m from Tennessee...and I’ve never heard of frog eye salad. Weird....I’m learning as well.
Must be those East Tennessee folks
Tn in the building and I dont know wtf that is.. all I know if it says frog.. there is a frog in it literally
I’m certain that they’re from Utah. I’ve had it here.
Yeah, I’m from Chattanooga. No clue. 😂
Thanksgiving is a day of rememberance and thankfulness for the many blessings in our lives.
Not everyone makes their stuffing like that. I’m from the south and we call it dressing and make it with cornbread
🙌🏻🙌🏻
You Southern Bell
Same , we do cornbread, bread, celery, chicken broth, onions, sage, eggs, and bake. We absolutely do not stuff the turkey with it! 🤣🤣 I can't even fathom the idea. Texas native here btw. I currently live in AR, and they have what they call Turkey dressing, which isn't stuffed into the Turkey, but it's dressing that's a little more wet, and has Turkey in it. 🙊🙊 But even in Texas I noticed from house to house dressing/stuffing was different.
Lacy Solis, Yes! But we don’t put sage in ours, mainly because we don’t like the flavor. I was born and raised in Louisiana, still live here! Can’t imagine living anywhere else, lol
Yep, I live in the south as well and my mom adds chopped up Cornish Hen to the dressing. It basically becomes a meal of it own lol.
To understand "Thanksgiving", you need to understand the origin of the practice. The practice of Thanksgiving was established in the 16th century North America by British citizens who had relocated to "The New World". These individuals were commonly known as "Pilgrims". The feast was called Thanksgiving because these British citizens celebrated the fact they had survived a very harsh winter, and established homes in North America. The first Thanksgiving was also shared with the local Native Americans of that period.
After The American Revolutionary War the practice continued, and became an American National Holiday, and part of American history.
Thanks for sharing the origin of Thanksgiving! Saves me the time! LOL
I LOVE the holiday, because it makes me think more about the blessing of living and sharing the world with all the special people I've met... in my life and online!...
I’m from the Uk. Thanksgiving makes sense now. Thank you for that. It’s a lovely tradition xxx
Also since it was about North America, other countries like Canada and St. Lucia celebrate Thanksgiving as well, but on different days than America.
When America was mostly agrarian, after the harvest, a community would come together and thank God for another year of the blessing of food, family, and health. That's what the first Thanksgiving was all about. It's not about the food other than when sharing a meal, it brings people together.
We as Native Americans NEVER invited “Pilgrims “ to our dinner table. The pilgrims invited themselves to our country!! Columbus DID NOT discover America!
Best time of the year, you decorate for Halloween and then Thanksgiving and then the day after thanksgiving you decorate for Christmas! I love decorating for each holiday.
I haven't finished the video yet, but I wanted to share something:
My son (10) gained a new friend this school year (well, a month ago) "Jaden from the UK". He was so excited as they are very much into all things British (Thank you Dan TDM :) ). Anyway, imagine my sons surprise when 2 weeks ago this same new friend walks into his Sunday School. 500k people in our little city in California, hundreds of churches, over 2 dz elementary schools... and this family lands in both of our hoods. Needess to say, I sent a hand written invitation to the family and invited them to spend an American Thanksgiving with us. They are so excited and so are we. I'll take some pics and maybe post a video of our own.
Thanksgiving by the way is my 2nd favorite holiday next to Easter.
Evelyn deGallery y
Thanksgiving does not take away from Christmas at all. They are completely separate entities about a month apart. The food is different and the vibe is different.
wpl
Yeah, only food they might have in common is Turkey, but nobody (no American, anyway) would ever confuse Thanksgiving for Christmas
Thanksgiving is all about Autumn, Christmas about Winter
Thanksgiving is the remembrance of the friendship & harvest between the native Americans & the first settlers. That first video showed a fairly typical Thanksgiving Day dinner (except for buffet-style): turkey, corn-on-the cob, green bean casserole (green beans, cream of mushroom soup, & topped with canned French fried onions), cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole (sweet potatoes, brown sugar, butter, topped with pecans & marshmallows), deviled eggs, & lots of pie… especially, pumpkin pie.
I love Thanksgiving because there are no gifts, no pressures, and we get to spend time with family.
The thing about them being so close, is we may see one side of the family for Thanksgiving and the other side for Christmas.
No pressures except for the host/hostess & the chef/s!!!!! Other than that, the most pressure of all will be felt by your struggling BELT!!! haha
@@thebeyer8321 RIGHT?!
I've hosted a few times... by myself! I'm one of the "kids" in the family and it's so stressful! Although, we generally do pot-luck style in my family, so whoever hosts usually does the turkey, potatoes, and usually rolls, then others bring the rest. Fortunately, I've always had a lot of help cleaning up after and it's always been such a warm and fun time with family. :)
I’m glad you have a lovely time, but hosting sounds like total stress- especially cooking the BIRD!! At least your family brings most of the side dishes. And clean up help- that’s something to be thankful for right there!! Well, brace yourself, in no time at all it will be here once again!!!! Hope you enjoy!
@@thebeyer8321 cooking the bird is actually the easiest part. The stressful part is doing all the baking. I'm an only child, and my husband and I host. This year my daughter and I baked four pies, and the bread. It was very stressful. I love doing it, but the older I get the harder it is. My daughter and her husband will take over hosting soon.
@@jonok42 The hard part with the pies is getting them out of the oven in time to put the turkey in. Depending on the size of the bird, this can involve getting up really early.
Y’all are talking about how your versions of the food is so funny!! Like “mash is for kids”. Sorry to inform you both but America isn’t posh or formal in anyway. Thanksgiving isn’t meant to be healthy either. 😂😂
Lol Happy Thanksgiving!
Also British food is terrible.
SuperMommav that’s actually incorrect
daycel13 Joel and Lia are so ignorant, i'm british and not everyone is so stupid and british people eat mashed potatoes here
SuperMommav ???? british food is THE BEST i mean chicken casserole, meat and potato pie 😍 cottage pie 🤤 bangers and mash, battered sausage at a chippy 😋 sunday roast.if you haven’t tried them you haven’t lived, i’m serious
I feel Thanksgiving and Christmas are equally important in America. Personally I enjoy thanksgiving more because it’s less pressure, you can just eat and enjoy everybody’s company.
Thanksgiving can be formal or more casual. A lot of times it depends on the size of the family and the size of the host's home. In my family when the guest list is larger, buffet-style is more common just because it's easier and it's harder to get EVERYONE around the same table because there just isn't enough space.
**FOR ALL CONFUSED BRITS**
Thanksgiving is an America holiday that originates from the 1600 when the pilgrims came to America from the mayflower and had befriended the local Native American tribes, which they then met an English speaking Native American who had been kidnapped and enslaved 7-8 years previously. He is famously known as Squanto. He was able to translate for the English “separatists” (pilgrims original name) and they made a peace treaty with the tribe in the area which created the first big feast of the two groups both making and bringing food. The feast lasted for multiple days, enjoying each other’s company and teaching others about their culture. Sadly this treaty was short lived and more English settlers came to the land and took advantage of the native Americans which caused multiple wars and eventually ended in the native Americans losing most of their possessions and land. But the “thanksgiving day” is still honored through the holiday we celebrate today. Now we use the time to gather together and spend time with loved ones, the food is just comfort food that people love to eat in America. There are no gifts or the stress of getting them, no tree or hot chocolate, no holiday lights, or crazy decorations. It’s simply a family gathering where you spend time together and enjoy their company. It doesn’t take away from Christmas because it simply isn’t trying to be Christmas.
Hope this helps ;)
You forgot watching football
Canadians also have Thanksgiving.. Traditionally to celebrate a bountiful harvest.
@@insidethebind1201 y
@@insidethebind1201 sorry, my phone dropped 😄
Turkey sandwiches are what you eat after you eat turkey several times and don't want any more of the bird. Then you make sandwiches of the leftover turkey meat.
James Koralewski what we do usually is make what we call “turkey salad “ which is basically chicken salad but with turkey. you should try it !
The sandwiches are why you buy a bigger turkey than you need
@@audkarinen6875 Yes. We just have a turkey breast. It's enough for the three of us.
“Steamed vegetables”
*recoils in terror*
Thanksgiving is much better than Christmas. Christmas is much more commercialized. Thanksgiving is only about family.
Heather Payne Family, Food, and Football!
Heather Payne amen, sister! Where are all my southern cousins tellining you that we always have Turkey and a big ham, both. And about 4 different desserts. As a child, our dinners were formal with China crystal linen napkins flowers. But with bigger families, some now just go with paper plates! Thanksgiving is relaxed and warm. Christmastime gets a bit nerve-wracking and pressured and materialistic.
@@alohafromthe3033 the South is definitely about family, food, and SEC football......not sure in what order!
..
Linda Jarrett I’m not a football guy but on thanksgiving when everybody and I mean everybody coming down from across the country just to have a 20 man game I’ll be out there!
Thanksgiving is not only about family. If that were true Black Friday wouldn’t start on thanksgiving day. Also it’s a holiday we stole from the Indians after we slaughtered them. Whereas Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Lol it’s turkey gravy. Made from the drippings. Only beef gravy is dark brown.
yep two young idiots that need to go back
@@bigc8300 ???
Unless you use a kitchen bouquet to darken it.
No it is not....
My turkey gravy is brown. You've got to use the pan drippings.
The nice thing about Thanksgiving family gatherings vs. Christmas is that there is no expectation for gifts or anything like that. So the family gatherings do feel a bit different because of that. No worries about gift giving; all about including people and quality time.
Kristen Wrenn That’s my favorite part over Christmas
Anyone else here 2 years later wishing you could invite these two ADORBS people over for a proper American Thanksgiving dinner!!!!
Absolutely!! Maybe I will when my house is finished and I have space to host!
Thanksgiving is a harvest festival that celebrates that Indians shared with the first pilgrim settlers and taught them to farm--saving their lives. At the first harvest they celebrated with a feast all together out of thankfulness to the indians and to God for thier lives. So we do the same--eat ridiculously large amounts of ridiculously rich foods with those we're thankful for gathered around. We spend time being thankful for the wonderful bounty we've been blessed with.
Everyone's formality is different. My family makes it more formal than Christmas. The reason for buffet and couch sitting to eat is that there's too much food to fit on the table and too many people to sit around it.
Actually No, it celebrates Native American Genocide...
Shadow Chief hell yeah I just love talking about murdering native Americans while I eat turkey with my family !
@@johnnyjaee1417 if you don't like talking about it don't celebrate it
Shadow Chief, while I understand ( and agree that things went really bad for the indigenous people), I don't think any of us celebrate Thanksgiving for such a terrible reason. Cut us a little slack, please.
@@gracewaddell4439 do you believe in truth or theory?
Thanksgiving is pretty much a day we eat, shop, watch American football and see random family members.Then everyperson say their thankful for food, family, a house, or every common day thing over and over and Hope's no one talks about politics.
Oh man there’s so much I’d like to say but not enough room to say it! To answer Joel’s question about Thanksgiving versus Christmas for me I have a hard time picking a favorite. The traditional theme of Thanksgiving is to be thankful and to celebrate being thankful. For that reason I think I tend to lean toward Thanksgiving as my favorite because it’s basically sitting around with family and friends enjoying time together and enjoying really yummy food. Whereas Christmas tends to focus more on gifts. Not to say that’s bad- giving gifts is so fun! And so is getting them haha! And don’t get me wrong I absolutely love Christmas as well, but Thanksgiving takes that out of the equation so you’re not thinking about giving or getting but enjoying what you have.
Exactly right
I agree. For me, Thanksgiving and Christmas are two individual holidays and don't take away from each other. Even though in the U.S. we view Thanksgiving as the official kickoff to the Christmas season, since it falls between 4 and 5 weeks before Christmas, I don't see it as competing with Christmas.
It really doesn't whatsoever. :)
This!
Thanksgiving VS Christmas:
Remembering the Colonists and their first successful harvest in the new world. Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ (although granted it actually took place in August)
Thanksgiving starts the holiday season including Xmas and New Years. It’s a harvest theme holiday celebrating the first Pilgrim colony surviving, hence the feasting and gratitude. Turkey is the main dish but everything else is basically family and local traditions. It’s a big day for football too.
Thanksgiving has changed with idea of more casual living in the US. I was born in 1949 and growing up Thanksgiving was eaten at the table. We had a large formal dining room and a table that could seat 14. We had roast turkey (of course), dressing (it's called stuffing in the US if it's actually stuff it into the bird), mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, steamed and buttered Brussel sprouts with cheese sauce (which later changed to green bean casserole...no, not cheese on top, but fried onion rings, but these days I'm sure there are those that now put cheese on top as well...or instead of the onion rings), cranberry sauce and various side salads, usually the type with fruit, nuts in jello that's been mixed with whipped cream, and of course gravy to top the turkey, mashed potatoes and dressing, rolls with butter. Dessert was pumpkin pie, apple and/or minced meat pie, ice cream.
We still have a formal dinner like the one described above. It's a day to remember all our blessings and be truly thankful for all you have and for each other family and friends.
In the South we call it dressing.
Thanksgiving is celebrating the murder of 70 million Natives
In the South, it's called dressing and we eat it on the side. not stuffed in a bird.
Sara Israel L
All of the (strange) foods are a staple of a traditional thanksgiving dinner. They're traditional. It wouldn't be thanksgiving without all of them.
Fascinating to read the comments of how much difference there is in how Americans celebrate the same holiday!
That sums up America.... we're all uniquely different.
Foods that are native to the Americas are at the center of Thanksgiving foods, such as turkey, potatoes, corn, pumpkin etc. At Thanksgiving, people go out of their way to make sure you have a place to go, people to be with, for the holiday. Much more than you would ever do for Christmas, which is for close family and friends. At Thanksgiving, you might have people at your table that are nearly strangers. Yes, we do say what we're thankful for.
I come from a large family and our typical Thanksgiving starts with cinnamon rolls and monkey bread for breakfast. Then you have a veggie tray with dip, chips and dip/salsa (my Aunt made an amazing chili cheese dip!), black olives, etc. to snack on while you wait for the actual dinner. :D The main course consists of: turkey, honey glazed ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh peas/corn, oven baked macaroni & cheese, biscuits and/or dinner rolls, stuffing, candied yams, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole (made with green beans, cream of mushroom soup, and crispy fried onions from a can, lol). But the BEST part is the dessert table. Not a dessert, a table full of desserts. Fudge, cookies, pecan/pumpkin/apple/chocolate silk pies, peach cobbler. Yes ... we eat ALL DAY! It's glorious. The treasured memories of a day with all the family, playing tag football in the street, helping to carry all the dishes in as people arrived. Amazing.
It's funny how most people talk about sitting in front of the TV and watching football. Nobody has mentioned yet playing football outside and working up an appetite.
You eat breakfast? We don't usually eat anything except appetizers (carrot and celery sticks and dips), prior to the big feast!
@@Leon-wz1js The dads and uncles are watching the games. :D :D The older and younger cousins are playing. I know it's weird to have breakfast, but we literally eat ALL day. Haha!!!
+Trisa Gentry
Pfft. My Dad never watched a football game (for thanksgiving) until years later when he went to other people's homes to have thanksgiving. Before that, we all went outside to have some roughhouse fun. playing some outdoor games of football, tag, baseball, what have you. Also, it kept the kids out from under my mom, so she could cook in peace.
Well, I wouldn't say "weird" but more "odd." Does that sound less derisive? I hope so. I honestly don't recall ever eating breakfast or lunch. Something light perhaps, like a roll, toast or donut, maybe.
@@Leon-wz1js Not derisive at all. We all have our traditions. That's what makes Thanksgiving so beautiful in my eyes. It is, quite literally, all good. It's simply beautiful to me.
Wow you do ham and Turkey? And cinnamon rolls? Will you adopt me? Lol
Lol I'm white and black mixed and I can honestly tell you different races have different Thanksgiving food. So you should definitely do a white family and black family Thanksgiving! ❤ best of both worlds!!
My mexican family we have standard stidf plus tammales
Asian-American tables have different choices, too.
I'm native American and we also have different food, closest thing is probably Mexican food. Ham, stuffing and Turkey are necessities though.
Jewish families have slightly different foods too.
Puerto Ricans make pasteles, arroz con gandules and pernil...but we ALWAYS have turkey, stuffing and candied jams...
Don't dip your bread in your gravy with people around? What a bunch of prudes! How do you clean up the extra gravy on your plate?
IndieDaveComix I don’t think they’re prudes maybe it’s frowned upon to sop the gravy.
My family used the thick gravy for gravy sandwiches and generally doused the potatoes and stuffing with the thinner gravy. We also generally had both turkey and beef gravy for potatoes and stuffing, with a thicker sausage gravy for gravy sandwiches.
Dale Splitstone Turkey and beef gravy we did as well. I just found out that with the left overs for sandwiches you put a piece of bread sopped in gravy in the middle of it. Gonna have to try it this year!
IndieDaveComix I will pick up my plate and lick the gravy off if I feel like it!👅😂😂
"Extra gravy"? I don't understand.
Here is why Thanksgiving is so big in the U.S. It's one day a year our country shuts down for a National Holiday. It is a day that families travel to re-unite to Give Thanks for our family love, friendships, work, health, and our accomplishments. Life will end for us all. Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Parents, Aunts & Uncles, siblings & cousins. We gather to thank God for his blessings, to remind us how fortunate we were in the last year. We visit, we gossip, we play games, we watch two American Football games. We bond and stay close to our loved ones. Because tomorrow is never promised.
The staple of any Thanksgiving Lunch or Dinner:
Baked Turkey
Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Optional Spiral ham
Pumpkin Pie.
Lots of planning and communication with family guest to mostly coordinate what we call "a pot luck" which everyone brings family dishes to add to the traditional items to more of individual family side dishes.
Green bean casserole is traditionally: Green Beans, covered in mushroom soup, topped with battered fried oinions.
Everyone has their family recipe tweeks on their families dishes. But nothing better than spending a day with loved ones, to appreciate all that God has Blessed you with. I think It shouldn't only be an American Holiday. I believe the world should set a side a day to just stop the routine, gather family and remember what is important in life. Which is FAMILY!
I like Thanksgiving best because it's about getting together with family, watching football, grazing on food all day long, napping because your so damn full, then last but not least planning on going out at midnight for black Friday! On this holiday there is no stress about presents or spending a ton of money like Christmas....just getting together and eating delicious food. Happy Thanksgiving y'all🦃
I personally feel that mashed potatoes are fancier than roast potatoes. Maybe because it's more work? This could just be my family, or maybe it could be an American thing. I'm not sure.
Gravy differs in America depending on where you live. Down South they have what we Midwesterns call "country gravy". It's thick and white, and very creamy. In the Midwest, we make gravy from the turkey broth, and it's a little thinner. It really just depends on where your family is from!
The difference between Thanksgiving and Christmas is that Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to God for our bounty while Christmas (which traditionally is about Christ's birth) is about gifts and decorations. Thanksgiving kind of kicks off the holidays here in America. We traditionally don't put up our Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving. We start shopping for Christmas gifts like crazy the day after Thanksgiving, too. The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are special and we feel like we are celebrating the whole month long!
Both holidays are important in America. However, Christmas is definitely bigger with more traditions, decorations, music, parties, gifts, and special church services.
@@trickykty I'm from new Orleans and we start with a roux FIRST, then proceed to make the gravy... My family is Cherokee and we always used the fat drippings from roasted meats to make our gravy... My favorite is red eye gravy my grandmother used to make for the ham... You talk about AMAZING?!? Ugh, wish she was still here to make some more!
@@flamingsword777 Yes i remember my Mom's red eye gravy and yummm is right.
@@Delgen1951 lol, the next time i ever have some, YOU will be in my thoughts amd prayers... 😂🙏😉
Most people don't have good dark turkey stock to make the gravy dark brown. There's Gravy Master for that.
mmm... no where is better for sausage, biscuits & gravy like in the south 👏
Probably the most iconic image of a traditional American Thanksgiving would be Norman Rockwell's "Freedom From Want" painting.
My other American friends and I hosted traditional Thanksgiving dinner when we studied in Cork for a fall and invited all of our Irish and European friends....we ended up having to make 3 full turkeys for the like 35 people who crammed into 1 student apartment. It was a TON of work but it was so much fun introducing everyone to Thanksgiving!
Oh my god! I'm from cork! UCC I presume!?
@@ruthmccarthy8281 yup that was where we studied.
The buffet style comes into play with large gatherings. Most of us don't have tables that sit 12. If the gathering is smaller, it is usually done around the table. I can't speak for the enirity of the country, but for us, no we don't pull out most of this food until a holiday. It's the only time we make stuffing. It's French fried onions on top of the green been casserole. So yes, vegetables can be served, but not usually in a healthy way. "Is that a vegetable? Put cheese on it."
My family have a lot of the foods year round....but in a lighter version. Like the Mac and cheese will be one cheese, at Thanksgiving... might have 4 different cheeses and egg. Candied yams are amazing. For everything day meals...baked sweet potatoes. Greens.....big pot takes forever to cook...it's a stable of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New year's,....a special occasion. The stuffed...or dressing varies family to family.
even when it's around a table though it's still buffet style, I don't think many people if any actually serve each guest a plate of food, everyone scoops their own onto their plate. Which is kind of a necessity given the large number of different foods cooked at most thanksgiving dinners and the large number of guests.
laura beth Belcher Or mushroom soup, or in my case, bacon and onions.
@@rickyricardo9710 agreed, I have never been served a plate of Thanksgiving food. I meant if the gathering is small enough, the food can be on the table while people eat it too. Granted, every time we do that in my home I tend to spend several minutes trying to figure out what every body has already gotten a serving of, returning that dish to the kitchen to declutter. So it basically turns into buffet style even if it didn't start out that way.
Joel and Lia: when you do a family “do” and everyone sits around the table for a meal, does everyone serve themselves, as in pass the dishes around the table, or does someone (like the mother I guess??) plate it for you?
Thanksgiving is better than Christmas. There's no hassle of gift shopping/giving, it's always on a Thursday so it's a long weekend, and there's no expectation other than a nice meal and time with family.
I would certainly not expect people from the UK to know anything about Thanksgiving but how on earth can they not know that the color of gravy is entirely dependent on what kind of drippings and broth its made from. Beef gravy is dark brown and turkey or chicken gravy is light brown. And obviously you would not have beef gravy with turkey or chicken. The one exception to this rule however is chicken fried steak, which uses a white gravy even though it’s a beef dish. That being said I have to admit that the gravy in that first family video was much lighter in color than turkey gravy typically is. Its certainly much lighter than my own turkey gravy.
Y
color also depends on how long you brown the flour
I think they were wrong to say it's dark brown here. More a lighter brown for chicken or turkey, but certainly not the beige colour in the Thanksgiving video
Agreed, they are speaking of roast gravy which we have. I also love white cream gravy or thick brown gravy on bread slices
The color of gravy comes down to how it is prepared!
I love Thanksgiving, it takes absolutely nothing from Christmas. In my family we put up the Christmas tree the weekend before Thanksgiving. I get up early start the turkey we watch the parade with the Christmas tree lit up in the livingroom. The diningroom is dedicated to Thanksgiving decorations of fall, turkeys, and such, we sit at the table we say what we are thankful for,we talk, we laugh, we eat it'a great day.
The gravy is turkey gravy that’s why it’s that color
I was very confused by their extreme reaction to the gravy color. Do they not have gravy in different shades of color in the UK? Unless it was an extreme color, like purple, orange, or blue. It wouldn't even have warranted a mention from me.
@@user-qp2qe5gf9b The darkness of the gravy depends on how brown you get the roux.
I don’t blame them tho, mmmm brown gravy is the best!!
I won't lie, I love Thanksgiving more than Christmas because the focus is on being grateful for loved ones and the things you already have. The fact that it's not religious and just the basic concept of giving thanks means that everyone can participate, regardless of their roots or who they might pray to. Christmas is so commercialized and there is so much pressure to spend and buy shit we don't need, plus the religion aspect. The older I get, the less I love it.
Some thoughts on potatoes and why most everyone's are usually mashed- when you're roasting a giant bird it uses up most of your oven space. There isn't room to chuck them in the pan like you would with a Sunday roast. My turkey this year was 23 pounds (just over 10kg). I think it's just simpler to boil and mash potatoes on top of the stove while the turkey is roasting in the oven.
Can you not cook the roast potatoes while the turkey rests after being cooked? That's what we'd usually do during a big Christmas dinner. It stays warm for ages.
Thanks giving is more akin to a harvest feast. Thankful for the bounty of the year. In many parts it is the start of deer hunting season.
Also, with the spread out families we now have, sometimes one "does" Thanksgiving at your mama's house and Christmas at your spouse's house and then swap it out and do it the other way around the next year. Thanksgiving is a wonderful, loving, get together, bring your best casserole or cake or pie, eat til you drop, watch football, tell old stories, be greatful for all your blessings time of year. It's a lot of work for the feast, but it is also a great time to just sort of pause and be together as a family and extended family and friends, and just soak up the love. Also, as to the comments about eating buffet style --We had 4 generations plus some neighbors and family friends at the last little humble Thanksgiving feast. I counted 43 in attendance and I probably missed some who came in late and just made a sandwich and sort of "grazed" from the plethora of scrumptuous delights available. Throw your banquet dining styles to the side. If you are hungry, you will learn how to eat with a plate in your lap in front of the TV or out on the porch or perched on a stool in the kitchen. And it will all be good. And you will feel the welcome and love and bonds of family, friendship, gratefulness and that sort of binding "togetherness" that so often escape us in the Christmas that the modern age affords us. Now don't eat too much because shopping starts tomorrow, but ain't we had a great time today!
I agree 'Ariel👍
Ariel Federspiel it’s interesting that you don’t see Thanksgiving as religious as for our family there is a deep sense of Thanksgiving to God. I agree though - I love that it is not a prescribed church holiday as that would steal the peace. 😊
A lot of black families also have mac & cheese at Thanksgiving.
No mashed potatoes
I wouldn't mind mac and cheese in addition to mashed potatoes personally. But my family doesn't do mac and cheese. Idk if it's just because it's not part of our family's traditions or if it has anything to do with being white.
@@SiameezyRPGer I can get you a GREAT Macaroni and Cheese recipe if you want to try it iheartrecipes.com/soul-food-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe/
@@zdoster we have in addition to either mashed or roasted potatoes or sometimes we have scalloped potatoes
I have never had mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. We have rice because chitterlings doesn't go with potatoes.
Thanksgiven is my absolute favorite holiday of all. It's family, it blessings remembered it's giving thanks, wonderful traditional foods cooked. I love love spending days cooking for this special day. Sitting down with love ones.
I’m American. I love thanksgiving. I love the turkey, the stuffing, the green beans, and the mash potatoes. I also love a nice slice of apple pie for desert.
Or pumpkin 🎃 pie w/REAL whipped cream! Yummo! 😋
Or the traditional thanksgiving pumpkin pie.
Apple pie? What kind of a Nazi are you? You're supposed to eat pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving!
@@shilohauraable yeah it's like fake American detected.
Here's a little history lesson for ya: The Three Sisters are the three main agricultural crops of various Native American groups in North America: winter squash, maize, and climbing beans. They can grow together and the first colonists learned this. Thats why those vegetables are typically featured at Thanksgiving.
It's such a chore plucking out all those frog eyes to make the salad.
Kidding.
LMAO
You should try frog eyes with chilled monkey brains. Yummy!
Thanksgiving is for relaxing with family, being thankful for the good things in our lives, and eating great (naughty) foods. You don't need to be formal or healthy this day. Get your healthy broccoli away from my table! XD
Joel and Lia, I hope this gives you a good sense of what the holiday is like: Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November and originally started as a festival to give thanks for the harvest. Some families are very informal about it, as you saw in the vlogs (wearing jeans and t-shirts, eating on the couch), while other families treat it as a very formal occasion (they dress up in very nice clothes, do a fancy setting of the table, and the food is formally served at a dining table). A lot of people like to invite extended family, or friends and neighbors, to their house for the feast so that nobody is alone. A lot of families go around the table to say what they're thankful for, but not all families do that. Some families in the USA have a custom of playing American football on their lawn on Thanksgiving day. I think there are also a lot of people here who like to watch American football on television on Thanksgiving. Another big tradition here is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which is a really big deal and it happens in Manhattan and is televised nationally. A lot of households watch the parade on television that morning while they cook. Thanksgiving is also the day when a lot of our television and radio stations start playing Christmas movies and Christmas music. I think there's always a TV channel that plays "A Christmas Story" over and over again, all day long. Around this time of year, young school children are usually taught about the Pilgrims, so they do arts and craft projects that depict Pilgrim outfits and the foods the would have been harvested, and of course turkeys. Probably every kid who goes to public school here has at one point or another come home with a turkey made of construction paper, then the parents put it on the refrigerator with a magnet. Sometimes the children put on a Thanksgiving Play at school where they dress up like Pilgrims and some may even go so far as to show Native Americans and Pilgrims peacefully dining together at what they are told was the "first Thanksgiving" (this is not true, but many schools here don't teach true American history). If you do an online search about the controversy surrounding Thanksgiving in the USA, you'll read a lot about Native Americans and genocide. The traditional meal does focus on a big turkey, and a lot of people like to talk about how they cook their turkey. Lately there's been a trend to deep-fry it in a special deep fryer that you buy specifically for Thanksgiving, and you have to use it outside. Traditionally the "man of the house" is the one to carve the turkey, and they pride themselves on having good carving skills. But, you know, times are changing, and these traditional gender roles are weakening. Thanksgiving is a big deal here. Schools and most jobs close for the holiday. There's even a "Butterball Hotline" that you can call with questions about how to cook your turkey (Butterball is a brand that sells a lot of turkeys). Fun fact: Every year the President of the USA does an official "pardoning" of a turkey, where he stands on the lawn of the white house with a real, live turkey, and pardons it so that it doesn't have to be killed and eaten.
When I was in school they did teach about the so called first Thanksgiving but they told us that it was not the first Thanksgiving
Good job Gina!
👍 totally agree. 🦃 Pardon the turkey....lol....just love it.
Thanks everyone! I just remembered that there are a bunch of running races that morning, too. The one in my town is called The Turkey Trot. And a lot of restaurants have special Thanksgiving meals if you make a reservation far enough in advance.
Great description
The turkey is standard and traditional but the rest of the meal might vary. It can be formal or very informal. Depends on the family.
Thanksgiving for me ushers in the Christmas season. Many communities have special concerts, plays and other events during the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's a fun time of year.
No deviled eggs? What type of sinners have you stumbled upon xD
Most African Americans families have : Trukey, Ham, Potato Salad, Mac And Cheese, Collard Greens, Cranberry Sause, Desserts: Chocolate Cake, Spice Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Pie, Coconut Cake, Fresh Homemade Dinner Rolls, and Homemade Ice Cream (strawberry or banana ). Kool Aid, Sweet Tea, Homemade Fruit Punch (unspiked for the kids) lol, Beer, Wine, Voka, Rum, Gin, Pepsi or Coke. A Deck of Playing, Cards, Music Blasting while the Thanksgiving Football Game is on. A Whole bunch of Jokesters, and kids playing staying out of Adults way. And yes you are invited. You both would laugh so hard because we are a bunch of fun loving people and crazy as hell. Get off the Phone, we not having that !!! You should of had you Butt here. Oh! Christmas is all together different we do not associate the two holidays. Except the food and Fun always the meal is fixed at a different persons house mostly the Grand Parents or the Oldest living Child ( The Matriarch of the family). Usually the Turkey is switch with a Goose or Baked Chicken but that all that has changed about the meal. Family and friend the same. Yeah your invited to that also. BUT !!!! This time you both would not be a guest but now considered family. Fix your own plate, you will laugh so hard you will fall of the chair. We would be on the floor playing with the kids toys and betting who's toy car is the fastest. Last year I won two bucks the car I had batteries lasted longer. Lol
Thank you for saying this. I was cringing at those layouts.
I wish my family did this. My Thanksgiving was a small turkey for my parent's and I, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and bread rolls. All we had to drink was a little wine for my parent's and water for me. No desserts.
@Mary Conway yea but it's still better than being with my family and being criticized and hated for nothing
This sounds like my family. We had an informal pot luck.It was sooo loud! We had mac and cheese, greens, and beans and cornbread.
I inject the turkey with cajun butter, coat the outside of it with olive oil and salt and pepper, stuff the cavity with apple, onion, and garlic and smoke for 3 hours then wrap in foil and finish on the smoker, 1 hour per pound.
My family decorates for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. ❤️❤️
Same tho, I love ittttt 😍 when you can finally listen to Christmas music, have leftover turkey on sourdough bread, cut down the tree... it's a whole tradition 😂😂
Thank goodness for that. Santa’s been machine gunning elves this year with all of the premature decorating and Christmas music, treating Thanksgiving like a sort of Christmas season halftime.
Us too lol
What you keep calling candied yams is really sweet potato casserole. Candied yams are generally chunks of sweet potatoes with a glaze. Sweet potato casserole is mashed sweet potatoes with a brown sugar topping topped with marshmallows. Also there are two kinds of stuffing/dressing. The kind you showed with the large pieces of bread (I've never had that) and something that looks more like what your stuffing looks like often made with cornbread which is the kind we eat in my family. Also traditional is mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans or green bean casserole, cranberry sauce either whole berry or jellied, which comes out shaped like the can. Pie is a usual dish, pumpkin, apple, pecan are probably the most commonly served. Turkey, of course is what most people serve.
A lot of people don't have large formal dining rooms and since there are often a lot of people you sit where you can find a place. Sometimes the parents and grandparents sit at the table and the kids go eat wherever or they'll set up a "kids" table for the overflow.
Honestly, food wise, Christmas is pretty much the same except we may have ham instead or in addition to the turkey. Maybe a cheesecake instead of the pie.
I'd love to see you guys do a traditional British Christmas meal to see what might be different.
Everyone does their sweet potato casserole differently - I top mine with crushed pecans and walnuts mixed with maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, and cinnamon.
We made the candied sweet potato cut up cubes, brown sugar with pecans and marshmallow topping and if Mom was feeling the mood she would add some pineapple cubes or some diced apple. Maybe that was a Florida "thing". LOL
What they are calling candied yams is what my family has called candied yams for my whole 54 years of life. Sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows on top.
D. Chase Huneke Tasty.
I'm glad you got them straight on the difference in candied yams and sweet potatoes. It saves me the trouble of having to find the words to explain it.
Turkey for Thanksgiving, rib roast (prime rib) for Christmas in my house.
And ham for easter.
Turkey for Thanksgiving, hanfor Christmas or both if we have a huge group of people.
*ham
Most thanksgiving foods are passed from generation to generation.
Yes! And a lot of recipes past on or traded every year.
Absolutely! I make the same foods my Grandmother made.
I am 43. I’ve always been taught that first and foremost living in Texas is the highest blessing but living in America is so wonderful. Thanksgiving to me is the unity between cultures where we have one day where we can all break bread together and celebrate life. Which is literally what my strange family did yesterday and it oddly worked out.
California is glamorous, but she worded that correctly. I would definitely chose Texas over California any day.😁
Having grown up in California and moved to Texas for a job, I'll take the "this is going to get me into trouble" approach and split the difference. I've found California and Texas to be rather equal in terms of a lot of things. They each have their pluses and minuses. There are pretty easy things to nitpick about either place, and things that one does I wish the other did and vice versa. I'm blessed to have both.
To respond to the one before me, If California comes across as glamorous to you, you simply just haven't been to enough places in CA, and you haven't looked very hard in TX.
@@null0byte As a disclaimer, I'm biased because I've never lived anywhere but Texas. In all honesty, I do know that there are pros and cons, and good and bad areas with both places. It was mostly a tongue in cheek comment. There are a few reasons that I wouldn't want to live in California. The most important reason is that I don't have any family there. There are also some personal freedoms that are much more prohibitive in California than in Texas.
Well I grew up in Florida 5 minutes from the beach. Great fresh seafood (shrimp, crab and other stuff) food we caught right off the dock or from our boat and fresh fruit, mangos, avocados, oranges, tangerines, pears pecans and walnuts from the trees in our back yards. And we could go to my uncle's house and pick strawberries, mulberries, watermellon, honeydews, cantaloupe or scuppernong grapes. I also lived in California for 3 years, it was a very pretty, very expensive place, full of smog and a lot of very odd people. I also lived in Texas, both in Dallas (3 years) and in Austin (15 years). Dallas was flat, hot as heck in summer and had very few trees but everyone stayed inside in the AC for half the year and had a good time going to plays directly from New York , concerts, sports games, symphonies Even tho Dallas was full of rich people (picture the people in the TV show "Dallas") they were not as snobby as the people in California. Austin was wonderful even tho it ran about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than Dallas in summer, and it was about 5 to 10 degrees warmer in winter. Austin is lovely with it's big beautiful shady oaks, nice hills, beautiful springs, lakes, and those breath taking fields of blue bonnet flowers in the spring. I have lived in 15 states and have visited every state except Hawaii. I have also been to other countries. I am now retired and back home in Florida living 1 mile from the Gulf.
Mike Felty The opposite is also true, Mike Felty!
My Thanksgiving Menu:
Roast Turkey
Homemade Cornbread dressing
Green beans with bacon and onions
Mashed potatoes
Turkey gravy
Sweet potato soufflé
Watergate Salad
Cranberry relish
Crescent Rolls
Pecan Pie
Pumpkin Pie
Apple Pie
Wine for Adults
Sparkling Cider for Children served in a wine glass 😉
What is Watergate salad
Change the green beans to black eyed peas and the Watergate salad to collard greens, add a ham....and ya... nearly same menu.
Lisa Mieth it's a very 60's - 70's kind of thing.
1 small pkg Pistachio pudding mix
1 can crushed pineapple
1 container cool whip
2 cups small marshmallows
1 cup chopped pecans
Add the dry package of pistachio pudding to Cool,Whip gently folding until well mixed, add in crushed pineapple with syrup, then marshmallows and pecans. Chill overnight, it should set up almost like a mousse. I remember and love it from my childhood. I alway double
It's a pistachio pudding and marshmallow concoction named after the Watergate restaurant in Washington D.C. @@SuperDrLisa
@@cherylann9781 ahhhhh that's million dollar pie" same recipe....in a pie crust. Or what I call the " meanie meal!" Cuz half the family is allergic to one or two of the ingredients....and the other half eat in an exaggeration style to annoy the ones that can't have it.
Don't forget about the Macy's Day Parade on Thanksgiving and football! Our family always always watch those 2 on the TV every Thanksgiving.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a “formal” thanksgiving. For my family the POINT was informality... relaxing and having fun.
Had formal Thanksgivings growing up, but things are no informal nowadays, that we're now a bit more informal, too.
I never heard of it being formal either. That’s takes the fun out of it
Matt Willett -- My family has enjoyed the more "formal" Thanksgiving setting. Each of us dresses up in nice shirts, slacks and neckties - the ladies, similarly - in their long dresses styled for the season... Then we move our large meal out from the kitchen table to the magnificent dining room, the hard wood table, with embroidered table cloth and matching napkins, surrounded by antique place settings, other fine furniture and get out our true 'sterling silverware'. Wine is served in antique crystal glasses and all of the hand made food is spread out upon the table in the sliver dishes or other fine serving bowls. We make a real 'show' of things around my home. :-) --My mother grew up in a very prosperous family, so those traditions must be passed along from one generation to the next.
Come on down to Arkansas and we'll fry a turkey for y'all.
Sounds like a heart attack to me. Just slow cook it for 4/5 hours.
@@w41duvernay it's actually not nearly as bad as you think since there's no breading on the bird.
Neither of those vloggers showed the cranberry sauce....!!!!!!!!! that is a STAPLE at thanksgiving, whether or not you eat it. There is a debate about chunky cranberry sauce (with the cranberry bits left in) or smooth cranberry sauce (with no cranberry bits- and its more jelly like). Also, that gravy depends on how you like it- most of the time it's the turkey au jus made with flour (and/or cornstarch) and other spices to thicken it. Some people just leave it thin, though. And in order for it to be a "traditional" thanksgiving meal, you MUST have: turkey, stuffing, potatoes of some kind (usually mashed), sweet corn (off the cob), gravy, yams/sweet potatoes of some kind (either "candied" or mashed), bread rolls, and cranberry sauce. Anything else is just extra. Some people do baked macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole, other meats (typically ham or chicken), other veggies, other sides. I have NEVER heard of "frog eye" salad.... it must be a regional thing to call it that.
For my thanksgiving, since it's just going to be my husband and I, we do non-traditional. Sometimes we roast a duck. This year we're having steak and fried calamari and mashed potatoes. When we get together with his grandmother, we'll be eating a traditional thanksgiving meal. Our thanksgiving extends from Thursday (thanksgiving) to sunday and sometimes different family members will schedule their meals on different days depending on timing and such. Sometimes it will extend to the weekend after, again, depending on scheduling.
The main differences between thanksgiving dinner and christmas dinner is 1. the decor- Thanksgiving is fall oriented, christmas is well, christmas oriented. 2. the main meat- on thanksgiving, turkey is "mandatory" for a traditional thanksgiving. On christmas, many families will have baked ham instead, while some will have turkey again or other meats as the main meat. 3. thanksgiving meals are all about earthy foods- yams, potatoes, corn, turkey, cranberry.... things you'd find during the fall harvest. Christmas meals are about being with family so you'll find it's more like a "sunday dinner" with homey foods like maybe roasted potatoes this time, plain green beans or other veggies, bread rolls for days, richer foods... things like that.
I would invite you to come, but we don't do traditional, so we wouldn't be a good example. Maybe you can have someone send you some things from America. Make a list of things you can't find in the UK and I'm sure that people will send you some. Or, next year, arrange to be in America FOR thanksgiving, so you can easily find the foods to make them yourself or so you can go with someone to their thanksgiving dinner!
Nimeariel We grew up with that gelatinous gloop that wiggled out of the tin and maintained its shape on the plate. But making sauce from fresh cranberries is so easy and tasty. And as they’re cooking, the cranberries make such a satisfying pop and amazing fragrance as they open up in the saucepan.
And, along the lines of “to each his own,” whether you watch them or not, the sounds of the Macy’s parade and American football games on TV provide a very traditional ambiance while meal preparations are going on.
@@cathyberry9793 I am sure that making your own cranberry sauce tastes better- but if I made it, I would for SURE strain out the cranberry bits and leave behind the sauce/jelly (and in this case with the homemade, I mean American jelly aka jam, not british jelly aka jell-o). EW!! Cranberry bits!!
AND YES!!!! to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade! If you don't have that going on tv in the morning in the background while you're cooking, are you really American?? :-p jk jk As for football.... I agree it's a staple, but.... I don't ever watch it.
One of my nephews must have the smooth jellied cranberry sauce or he can’t eat or so it seems. I personally don’t care which one it is but I do like it even the next day on my Thanksgiving sandwich.
@@judykeown The best thing is a turkey/thanksgiving sandwich- turkey, cranberry, mayo, and lettuce is what I put on mine.... I don't like stuffing, and usually the mashed potatoes are gone the same day.... :p
For myself you forgot about devil eggs. Can't leave the best part out.
I’m getting ready to smoke my turkey. Too bad y’all are not here to experience this.
Awww wish we were!!
I will tweet y’all some before and after pictures. She is a 12.2 pound bird!!!
Les Miller we are deep frying our turkey this year for the first time!
Paula Beaton good stuff!!!
Les Miller Got 12 turkey drumsticks in the fridge, I'll brine them tonight and smoke them tomorrow!😋
A lot of families will have one side of the family for Thanksgiving and another side of the family for Christmas. It makes it so you can see Moms and Dads side of the family during the holidays.
Samaria Newgard ɪ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ sᴇᴇ ᴍʏ ᴍᴜᴍ's sɪᴅᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏᴘᴘᴏsɪᴛᴇ sɪᴅᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ sᴇᴇ ᴍʏ ᴅᴀᴅ's sɪɴᴄᴇ ᴛʜᴇʏ ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ɪ ʟɪᴠᴇ
You didn't describe the ritual of the kids table. Thanksgiving is an opportunity to rise to the adults table. It's an American institution!p
Yes! Thanksgiving is a time where you cram so many people around your table that there's often not room for everyone. A card table, or folding table will be deployed in this case, and the children sent to sit there, while the adults use the regular dining table. It's a right of passage to be granted your spot at the proper dining table... one which, incidentally did not happen in my family owing to the fact that there were only 2 children in the whole extended family at the time.
Absolutely!! We have two small folding tables for the kids. The adults sit at the kitchen table or sometimes on the couch or in a recliner if need be.
I could not imagine having just Thanksgiving or just Christmas. I would recommend that you read about the Pilgrims and why Thanksgiving started. It is a very sentimental celebration of thanks. Less formal than Christmas, it is a day to eat, hang out with family and friends, watch football and give thanks for everything that is personal to you. Each family serves different things, but staples like turkey, buns, mashed potatoes, stuffing (made to your preference) and gravy (any flavor) are usually part of the meal. We don't categorize any of these things as "formal" or "informal" foods unless it's a rich, snobby family, "Oh Herald, mashed potatoes and bread? How informal!" LMAO
In the south we call stuffing dressing because we don’t stuff the turkey
Well not all of us southerners call it that, but yeah we just straight up eat it on it's own.
Stuffing inside the bird dressing outside the bird simple.
Yes, we never put the dressing inside the turkey either. There are two kinds of stuffing or dressing, the cubed version and the none cubed. If you like dry dressing, you use the cubed dried bread. If you like your dressing wet, then you use the none cubed dried bread. I personally prefer the wet version in which I use chicken or turkey broth, melted butter, sauteed onion and celery (lots of celery). I buy the already season Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix so I do not have to season it. The amount of broth you add determines how wet it will be. I bake it in a casserole dish. Along with whole berry cranberry sauce, it is my favorite part of the Thanks giving meal.
Dressing is made with cornbread. It's very different from stuffing, which is made from....bread bread. Dressing tends to be a regional staple of the south, but you'll find both.
Miss Ismist Dressing in the south is made with cornbread. They don’t use cornbread up north.
Growing up in the 60's Thanksgiving was a semi-formal event. We would go to my Grandparents house and all sit in the formal dining room. All the food was on the table and we would all say grace before we started eating. My Mother's side of the family was more strict, and table manners were observed and if not, you would get in trouble. My Father's side was less strict, but still the same: Food on the table and everyone said grace before eating. All of my cousins would be at my Father's parents place so it was more fun for us as kids. Oh yeah, and we would usually got to both Grandparent's houses for Thanksgiving. One would be held earlier than the other so we could make both. The days of the formal Thanksgivings seem to have vanished. They are much more laid back affairs now. Another thing about Thanksgiving, there is American Football on all day. My favorite Team, The Dallas Cowboys, always plays on Thanksgiving Day so it makes it even more awesome. Here in America Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Holiday season and things seem to get more relaxed at work all the way through New Years. Definitely a top 2 Holiday for me.
First time I ever heard the phrase, "having a family do." We say having a family... "get-together", "function", "event" or "dinner" (or "lunch/luncheon").