Unusual Holidays

However, on Thanksgiving Day the year I was 11, I wasn’t sick at all. Early that morning, our doorbell rang. I didn’t know it then, but our family couldn’t afford a turkey for dinner, so a friend of my parents brought us one. 

He carried a gunny sack into the house, and Dad ushered him into the kitchen. The man swooped the heavy bag onto the counter, then Dad plopped the contents – a freshly killed turkey – onto the newspapers Mom had placed on the counter. 

As soon as I saw the axe heading for the turkey’s neck, I bounded out of the kitchen as fast as my legs could carry me, and I didn’t return until dinner time. That Thanksgiving Day, instead of the traditional meal, I feasted on Mom’s homegrown vegetables. In fact, on that unforgettable holiday, I became a vegetarian – for an entire year. 

Sheron - Hemet, California 

Storm Caused Change of Plan 

One year, my husband and I were headed to Asheville, Tennessee, to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with our daughter. However, the weather got bad as we neared Knoxville, so we called some friends who owned a condo there.  

Our friends were at their son’s place, but they insisted we stay at their condo and told us where to find a key. We were grateful to have a place to stay – and even more so when the storm continued to rage for two days.  

So, instead of a traditional Thanksgiving meal, we feasted on chicken cordon bleu. 

Anne - Sylvania, Ohio 

Family Tried an Untraditional Way of Celebrating Holiday 

It is our family’s tradition to rotate the hosting of holiday feasts to prevent undue burden on any one family member. One year, however, my husband, David, suggested we do something different for the Thanksgiving holiday. He suggested we have a progressive dinner. 

We brought the idea to the family, and David explained how a progressive dinner works. In short, we would all go to different houses for different courses of the meal. The concept seemed to have merit, and everyone agreed to give it a try. The plan was to have appetizers at David’s sister’s house, the main course at our home, and dessert at his brother’s place.