In conclusion, what Thanksgiving has taught me about the connection between American culture and kinship is that the American identity of my family is reflected in how few constant traditions we have. None of our Thanksgiving traditions are set in stone: some years we go around in a circle and say what we’re thankful for, […]
My family is new to the specific neighborhood that they are now living in, and this Thanksgiving, coming back from the walk, we discovered that our whole neighborhood is a small, shared imagined community — they all have the tradition of putting up Christmas lights on the night of Thanksgiving, a shared tradition that underlies […]
In lecture a while back, the professor asked us to consider the ways that kinship is established in our world. When I was going on the walk after dinner, I found it incredibly difficult to conduct any more interviews, because my family’s establishment of kinship means that it is shown by the oldest cousin (myself, […]
Two or so hours after the Thanksgiving feast has been finished, my family likes to either ride a bike around the block (another block for each slice of pie you eat) or go for a walk. This is because, as my mother said, “Traditionally, people sit too much on Thanksgiving. This way you wake up […]
Whereas my family often naturally separates into groups of younger and older people, Thanksgiving is the holiday where we really try to be all in the same room together, young and old. Kenneth Guest writes about the power of kinship networks to support and nurture the next generation, and Thanksgiving is a function of that […]
The whole family ate dinner together, and this year, our crowd of people consisted only of blood relatives, or people considered as good as blood relatives, in the case of my adopted family members. As discussed in lecture, there are other modes of kinship than just blood ties, and nearly every year, we have friends […]
When the food was finally all prepared, it was organized on the counter, rather than the table. This is because my mom, the one in charge of events, said, “I’m tired of hauling all that stuff into the dining room. It’s a silly tradition.” Because she was standing in the role of the matriarch in […]
As it grew closer to mealtime, my older grandparents moved to sit at the table by the kitchen so that they could be part of the conversation. For other, larger holidays, the two sides of the family are so busy with their own celebrations that they never have time to meet up, but, as my […]
Before dinner, I asked my younger cousin what Thanksgiving meant to her. She answered, “Some of my friends don’t really celebrate Thanksgiving, I guess. I don’t really know why. I like Thanksgiving because it means I eat pie and get to see you.” Some families like to tell a story about the origins of Thanksgiving […]
While the turkey was being cooked, my granny and I set the table. “For a formal day like Thanksgiving,” she told me, “you have to make sure to set the table right.” The spoon and knife had to go on the right side of the plate, resting on top of a napkin, and the fork […]
