Happy Thanksgiving!

Edward Winslow.

It astounds me that in the US today that most people would know more about trashy celebrities like Cardi B, Madonna, LeBron James, and Ariana Grande, than this man to whom Americans owe Thanksgiving. Edward Winslow chronicled the events that happened to the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower ship after they landed at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He was the first one to mention a harvest feast. According to him, the surviving Pilgrims planned a gathering to give thanks to the good Lord for their first ever harvest in the new land, and their allies, the Indian tribe of Wampanoag, joined them.

“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”

–Edward Winslow, December, 1621

source: Smithsonian

 

And to add to Edward Winslow’s feat, he launched a national tradition without Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. (Thank goodness! It would be brutal had he started Thanksgiving on social media today. A fourth of the netizens would agree with him; a fourth would accuse him of racism and genocide; a fourth would blame him for white supremacy; and a fourth would pillory him for believing in a god doesn’t exist.)

Oh well…

give thanks GIFs - Primo GIF - Latest Animated GIFs

I’m sure I told you that we have a family tradition of incorporating an international dish at our Thanksgiving dinner. Last year, because of Covid, we hosted two small Thanksgiving dinners, instead of one big one. We had one dinner with the traditional American fare: turkey, stuffing, mashed potato, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. And we also had a Korean barbecue with samgyupsal, galbi, bulgogi, buldak, and kimchi.

Today, we’re back again to one Thanksgiving dinner, and my international dish is a Philippine dessert. It’s a fruit salad with heavy whipping cream. I found the recipe from the website, panlasangpinoy.com. It looks easy enough. But I’ll deviate a bit from the recipe by adding mangos, strawberries and blueberries to the canned fruit cocktail mix, and also small tapioca pearls. I’ll tell you tomorrow if the dessert’s a hit or not.

 

38 Comments On “Happy Thanksgiving!”

  1. Happy Thanksgiving @Packmule3 and to all my American friends who celebrate it!

    I do hope you will have a great day ahead! I wish you the best!
    Let’s be grateful that we have found B.O.D. as our sanctuary!
    Let’s be grateful that we met each other even our Avatars!
    Let’s be grateful that we are healthy and sound!
    Let’s be grateful for everything we have!
    Let’s be grateful!

    Lot’s of hugs and kisses from my part of the world!

  2. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    Happy Thanksgiving once again to @pkml3 and all who celebrate it!

    Hi @Cleo! I’m certainly grateful for online companions like you!

    I’m starting to make a resolution that I should hangout in the US during Thanksgiving to get a sense of the celebration and of course to experience the traditional festive meal. 😋 ☺️ 😉

  3. Happy thanksgiving!
    “And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”
    I hope you all are so far from want today.
    Pm3—when I went to visit my brother in DC, we ordered takeout from the restaurant the Korean embassy members frequent. It was my first experience of authentic Korean fare and I still dream of that meal.
    Your fruit salad recipe sounds similar to what is always served on our tables at holidays—Ambrosia. I usually just eat the marshmallows and mandarin oranges and avoid the marischino cherries. Your idea of adding fresh fruit will be *chefs kiss*

  4. Happy Thanksgiving, @birdie007. Yes, DC and its suburbs have great Korean restaurants — thanks to the Korean immigrants.

    Yes, we also have fruit salad like this but we use vanilla pudding mix and cool whip.

    I was actually going for mango with coconut sauce and tapioca pearls. I tasted it when I was in Hong Kong. However, I wasn’t sure if some family members were allergic to coconut so I looked for an alternative. None of them is allergic to whipped cream and condensed milk, that’s for sure. 🙂

    Hmmm? Should I add marshmallows, too? Maybe I’ll just put them on the side for those who want it.

  5. Or you can just start your own version of Thanksgiving in Singapore, @GB. 🙂

    I’ve to insist on going to church as family or else this holiday is just about turkey, football, and leaf-raking. lol. My husband banned electric/gas-powered leaf blower so the guys and kids must pile up leaves the old-fashioned way: with a rake. lol.

    I heard we’re watching “Dune” sometime today. I was trying to get them to watch something Korean, though. Like “Train to Busan.” hahaha.

  6. Thanks, @Cleopatra.

    I’m thankful for loved ones, the living and the dead.
    I’m thankful for friends, and frenemies who make me better.
    I’m thankful for kdramas, Cdramas, and doramas for giving me a break from real world.
    I’m thankful that things all going back to normal here. I hope it’s the same in your part of the world.
    I’m thankful for resiliency and patience.
    I’m thankful for old people and young children for inspiring hope in their own way. Yesterday, I met an old lady who was joyful that she received a pacemaker guaranteed to make her live another 8 years, and a 7-year-old boy who wanted to plant pumpkin seeds so butterflies can have pumpkins to eat. All’s well with the world.

  7. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    LOL @pkml3, surely NOT Train to Busan on Thanksgiving! Unless of course, you want them to be super grateful that they are more fully alive than undead. 😉

    If it’s to be Korean fare then I’d suggest Move to Heaven

    Hmmm… why leaf raking on Thanksgiving? Do the kids get to jump into the leaf mounds?

    For stuff like that, I’ll have to go much farther affield than home!

  8. Happy Thanksgiving, @packmule3 and everyone here on BoD!
    While we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Europe, I am feeling immensely thankful that I and my loved ones stayed healthy, even in the middle of a raging pandemic.
    I moved to a beautiful new country which I never expected and now I can travel to so many places. I am thankful for all the new people I met here who helped me settle in an alien country.
    I’m thankful to the kdramas that kept me sane while I was stuck at home, and lastly I’m super thankful for this blog’s warm community who always keep me entertained.
    I hope the dessert turned put well, @packmule3. I have eaten a similar dessert called Es campur in Indonesia- it’s delicious 😋

  9. Yes. It’s for the kids to jump into the leaf mounds.

    We have lawn service to mow, fertilize, reseed, and take general care of the lawn. But my husband tells them to stop everything about 2nd week of November — when the leaves really start falling from the trees in the backyard. 🙂 It gives him and the guys something to do outdoors while the others are inside cooking up a storm.

    “Move to Heaven” is kinda sad, plus it’s a series. I want something shorter than 3 hours.

    I wanted “Train to Busan” because I heard they were going to make an American remake of it. (Ugh! They should leave it alone. Who can beat Gong Yoo?) But that’s a thought: they should be grateful indeed that they aren’t part of undead horde.

    Song JongKi’s movie “Space Sweepers” would have good, too, but a few of us already watched it.

    Anyway, I think we’ll end up watching “Dune.”

  10. @Phoenix,

    When my kids were little, we took them out of school a few times to spend Thanksgiving week with their French cousins. Of course, they don’t celebrate it, but we jokingly call it “Le jour de merci donnant” — a term coined by this American humorist Art Buchwald. It’s not a real French phrase.

    I think the turkey was either pre-ordered from Le Bon Marché or from the local butcher. But the rest, my sister-in-law and I cooked them ourselves.

  11. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    What an ingenious tradition @pkml3. Keep the guys busy (and exercised and out of your hair), prepare for the kiddies to have fun messing up the leaves again, and they still have to do another sweep up to clear the lawn after that while you hopefully get to relax indoors. 😄 Brilliant holiday tradition!

    Enjoy Dune. I admit that I never read the book or watched the movies, neither the original nor the adaptations. I hope it keeps the family riveted.

  12. To my beloved BoD family: wherever you are, and whatever food is on your table today, may you count your blessings with gratitude.

    Even though I watch Asian dramas to experience a world different than the one in which I normally live, I learn a lot of life lessons from them. I am thankful for this community who looks for truth within the fiction and values respectful discussion. I especially want to thank you, @Packmule3, for using your time, energy, and brainpower to share your analyses with us. Often I read your commentary in awe because it lays bare the most important issues or reveals hidden clues. I’m grateful you’re generous with your insight.

    Despite my having grown up observing Thanksgiving in a traditional way, as soon as I entered a multicultural marriage, that went out the window. Dishes from China and India regularly appear on my Thanksgiving table. I think the cultural mix captures the spirit of the harvest feast shared by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag.

    This year I’m going to be part of a small gathering for Thanksgiving dinner, so we elected to go to a restaurant instead of cooking at home. My husband and younger daughter voted for roast duck over turkey, so Chinese it is. The three of us will be joined by my brother, and we’ll pick up my husband’s oldest sister from her nursing home.

  13. @packmule3 I just Googled and read that article on Washington Post which was Art Buchwald’s hilarious attempt to explain Thanksgiving to the French.
    I’ve never even found turkey here, but maybe they are available in Le Bon Marche. If I search for where to get Thanksgiving turkey near me, Google shows me flights to Turkey..Lol
    Dune is quite a hit and I haven’tseen either this or the earlier versions or read the books either, like @GB. All I know is it has Timothee Chalamet who I like, and who played Laurie in Little Women.
    Are they planning a remake of Train to Busan? Seriously, who can replace Gong Yoo? Heard they were even planning an American adaptation of Crash Landing on You, I can’t imagine how that will go🙄
    Enjoy your Thanksgiving, @packmuke3😀

  14. Have a feast Queen with your love ones and Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends in the USA! 🥳

    That’s our fruit salad version, it should have strings of fresh coconut too yeah? Enjoy! 🥰

  15. Happy thanksgiving to all my American chingus. Much to be thankful for. Thanks again @packmule3 for this safe place to enjoy our KDramas/CDramas/Period Dramas in. Counting blessings. 🍪🍨🍗

    Hope your dessert is a hit.

  16. Counting blessings…no turkey but I do have quail…

    BagEnd is officially now the lodgings of the March sisters and Laurie – minus Beth. The hobbits were dispensed…err…went to the Undying Lands. Fare thee well Frodo, Bilbo, Merry and Pippin.

    https://i.ibb.co/kBswxCT/0-DE4-BD03-4-B53-437-D-A0-F2-C2-AACF651-E66.jpg
    Laurie (Theodore) – he’s a gentleman. He always asks first and doesn’t resort to thuggery when it comes to courtship.

    https://i.ibb.co/B3BGRCd/679-CAEBB-F96-B-414-B-A8-AA-2108-A6-ECD159.jpg
    Sweet Meg. Who is content to potter around doing normal quail things.

    https://i.ibb.co/WfW0HGd/0194366-A-CDBD-4663-B941-4-D079342293-E.jpg
    Tornado feisty Jo(sephine) who is hardly ever still (photo evidence). Whom Laurie is secretly in love with but she keeps refusing his advances. She runs away from him all the time 😂. He always keeps trying though?

    https://i.ibb.co/8zFYKzY/37-F8899-E-E5-EB-4-F62-9-FCD-D41-F1-BB28-A17.jpg
    And finally Amy. Who welcomes Laurie’s advances with aplomb. Ever ready to satisfy his err…Spring male urges.

  17. Thanks for sharing the history, @pm3 🙂 The dessert sounds delicious! Hope you and our fellow BODers have a great time.

    @Welmaris – I love a good roast duck!

    On a side note, the Black Friday sale is getting very popular here in NZ.I used to hold out for the Boxing Day Sale but no need anymore.

  18. Happy and blessed thanksgiving!!!
    It’s a solemn one for us as we lost a dear friend yesterday from a long battle with cancer. We are with the bereaved family today – crying, smiling at shared memories, But there’s always something to be thankful for. What is death but a celebration of life? It was a life well lived in faith and love. And we are thankful, blessed and inspired to have been touched by his.

    I’m grateful to the BoD community for enhancing my drama viewing experience and for the connections we’ve made thru our shared thoughts and writings. I treasure that a lot!

    For those celebrating thanksgiving, enjoy all the food! @PM3, hope your Filipino fruit salad turns out delicious! We like to add young coconut (buko) to ours so it becomes buko salad.

    Love and hugs to all! 💗💗💗

  19. Dear @Packmule3,

    Amen to all that! <3

    I do hope you had a lovely day yesterday!

  20. @GB Unnie,

    I am grateful for online companions like you too! <3

  21. @Janey,

    I am so sorry for your loss. I am glad you had each other in such a meaningful day!

    *Sending HUGS your way*

  22. @Welmaris,

    I do hope you had a lovely time yesterday!

  23. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    Hi @Janey, my deepest sympathies to you and to your friend’s family.

    May you still have a good holiday weekend.

  24. Thank you @Cleo and @GB for the thoughts and virtual hugs!!! 💗💗💗

  25. @Janey, condolences on your loss. It always seems harder at this time of year.

  26. @packmule3, your fruit salad sounds a bit like something we used to call Ambrosia. Especially with @janey’s coconut flakes added. I hope it was a success. It’s so nice to have something refreshing after a big meal.

    My daughter and I traveled up to Bristol to visit family. They made us chilli which was fabulous, albeit not your regular Thanksgiving meal, as it’s England after all. But with sweet potatoes and great company it was more than enough to be thankful for.

  27. Condolences @Janey. Sorry for your loss.

  28. @Cleopatra, I hope your arm is feeling much better. 🤗

    @Janey, condolence on your loss. 🙏🏼

  29. @Janey, you have my sympathy on the loss of a beloved friend, and my heart goes out to your friend’s family.

    @Cleopatra, I hope your elbow is getting better and better. Are you undergoing physical therapy to get it back into shape?

    Also, @Cleopatra, thanks for your inquiry about my Thanksgiving dinner. It turned out to be a hit with all participants, but not until we weathered an initial scare. When we started to order our meal, we were told they’d run out of duck. This was at about 5pm, and the restaurant was mostly empty! The whole reason we’d picked that restaurant and made a reservation was because it served duck. But when we reminded them we’d booked our table and duck a few days prior, they checked in back and found they’d saved one Peking duck for us. They served it to us two ways: roasted with crispy skin, served on steamed bread buns with hoisin sauce, julienned green onion and cucumber; also duck meat minced with other ingredients and served in lettuce wraps. Both were delicious! All the other dishes we ordered were also excellent. We brought home lots of leftovers.

  30. Thank you @Fern, @nrlee, @Agdr03, @Welmaris for your consoling words. They are much appreciated in these times. As @Fern said, the holidays are the hardest. Take care and hugs back.

  31. Janey <3

  32. @Welmaris and @agdr03,

    My elbow is getting much better. The inflammation is off. Basically, I suffered from tendonidis that the pain even hit me in my shoulder.
    Putting ice and taking my medicine helped me a lot. Especially putting ice was the only thing that made me feel better. I was off my pilates sessions and I will start again but I will be careful.

    @Welmaris I have read your comment about “Fall in Love” and I will answer to you there. You gave me a lot of info, about some symbols I didn’t know anything about.

    I am glad that you enjoyed your duck dishes! While I was reading your description, I was thinking this is mouthwatering!

  33. @Janey – virtual hugs! I read it somewhere, it takes a year to fully know after going through all the milestone days. I hope with the days go by, feelings are less heavy. Sending care.

  34. Thank you @Viva. 💗

  35. Wishing @OAL and others a Happy Hanukkah!

  36. Yes, Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate it. So early this year!

  37. Dear @OAL and to all those who celebrate it! Happy Hanukkah!

  38. GrowingBeautifully (GB)

    Ah thanks for the reminder. Hannukah is not on my radar in this part of the world.

    ✨ 🎁 🎈 🛍️ 🍎 ✨ Happy Hannukah @OAL and all who celebrate it! ✨ 🎁 🎈 🛍️ 🍎 ✨

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