Thanksgiving and Texas

Ever wondered what gave a very special day such as Thanksgiving a “Texas” touch? What makes the Texas Thanksgiving the BEST compared to other states? (I might be a little prejudice on this :P). Read along, let me take you on a short drive through all about Thanksgiving, but totally Texas style.

Thanksgiving

One of the most awaited days is the Thanksgiving Day. Doesn’t matter if you are already way advance in years or young, doesn’t matter if you are a dad busy with all the office works or a working/stay at home mom (who probably has to do all the heavy lifting to prepare for Thanksgiving), Thanksgiving Day has us all excited alike!

Not only does this special day allow us to remember and be grateful for all the good things, and enjoy the company of the loved ones, It also inaugurates the festive season, the most joyful of the seasons in the whole year if you will.

You might have already heard about its most widely accepted origins a number of times. But do you know Texas might be the place where the tradition began way before the harvest of 1621?

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History

(Ofc, there’s more history to it, including how Texas even had two Thanksgivings, etc., you can read about them here –

https://carolctaylor.com/wordpress/?p=1777,

https://texastimetravel.com/blog/texas-roots-of-thanksgiving-the-story-of-san-elizario/)

So which one should we consider as the first Thanksgiving? I don’t know. I think I’ll leave that answer to the historians who have spent years of their life studying history.

But do you know what is the BEST thing? It is that we do have a day, a day consecrated, set apart to remind ourselves of all the good things and be thankful for them, a day to enjoy time with family and friends. (also a day to see who wins at digging in the most of all presented on spread. Kidding. Haha!)

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Texas Thanksgiving

Granted, every state has its own way, its own touch on how they celebrate Thanksgiving. Well, when you talk about it, even every family may have its own personal style.

But, in my opinion, no style is better than a “Texas-style” Thanksgiving. Now, I might be a little prejudice here, and I may upset readers from any other state, but yeah you can say that I’m just blinded by love for Texas haha

The Spread

Ever heard of the saying – “Food brings people together”, well it brings families even closer! And one cannot deny it, but Texas just has the best cuisine out there. Be it going for a Tex-Mex dish, or directly ready to gulp down that BBQ brisket, Texas offers it all at the finest.

And leave no doubt, Texas Thanksgiving spread is nothing less of a royal feast. The table literally covered with different mouth watering delicacies. A few of the items are –

• Deep fried or smoked turkey (Cornbread Stuffing with Jalapeños and Sausage is simply amazing) (I’m even aware of some going for ducks.)
• Cowboy caviar (a dish is made with black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and bell peppers)
• Honey baked ham (if you don’t want turkey, you can always go for this.)
• Sweet potato and green bean casseroles (they are simply yum!)
• Tamales and charro beans (It won’t be a Texas-style Thanksgiving without them)
• Pecan pie (It’s the best! Pumpkin and apple pies goes well along with Pecan pie)

Ofc, there are many other things like cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, sweet tea,etc! Like I said, nothing compares to the food that Texas offers.

(You can read about other dishes here :

https://107jamz.com/ixp/159/p/how-to-make-a-texas-themed-thanksgiving-dinner/

https://www.qualityrvresorts.com/traditional-texas-thanksgiving-foods/)

Now, we enjoy our Turkeys deep-fried Texas style!!! And some of us would go for smoked or roasted turkey too (if it were up to me, I would have all 3 of them! Yes! On a single day!.).

(By any chance if you are confused as to which one to choose you can go for deep-fried, or if you’ve have already prepared something, but you think like you should have gone with something else – hey, you can always have another Thanksgiving Day the following day. Nothing wrong in being extra thankful and having another Thanksgiving, right? 😋😅)

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Football

Thanksgiving in Texas is literally incomplete without watching the Dallas Cowboys play football. We love football! Thanksgiving smoked/friend turkey and football is something to live for!

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Parades

Houston’s H-E-B Thanksgiving parade is one of the oldest parade tradition in the Country.

Some people even choose to run a turkey trot for certain missions or for creating awareness.

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Family, Friends and Community

A Thanksgiving dinner is not a Thanksgiving dinner at all without the company of your friends and loved ones. It’s not the spices or the recipes that make the food on the table delightful. What makes it special is the company of your loved ones. It is their smiles and their presence that makes the food taste better than not only any other food in the United States but also in the whole world.

This, my friend, brings us to the very crux of the post and the final destination of our short drive.

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The Crux

You can say this is actually the part for which I wrote the whole article. I know it’s not a very wise to do according to “X ways to write best blog” rules, as most of the people won’t even read this far. But that’s what I wanted! I wanted to reach you! Coz I knew you would make it till here, and I’m glad you are here and are reading this.

But, my awesome fellow Texans, let’s not forget the true spirit of Thanksgiving, i.e. to be thankful. Let’s make this Thanksgiving the BEST one yet.

What you do, and the traditions, are totally up to you. It doesn’t matter what you do. Doesn’t matter what you prepare for dinner. What matters is coming together at the table, what matters is expressing your heart of gratefulness in its entirety towards your friends and families. Letting them know how special they are to you and how grateful you are to have them in your life. This Thanksgiving, let’s make it a point to let them know that you don’t take them for granted.

You don’t have to be religious to have a grateful heart.

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To Conclude

To conclude, our love towards our family, our community and our beloved state is what makes the Texas Thanksgiving special. It’s what makes a Texas Thanksgiving a “Texas Thanksgiving.”

Let’s be grateful for our beautiful lone star state. Let’s pray that God blesses all the other states of the United States, but blesses Texas more! (yup, I’m prejudice. Sorry, just love Texas too much haha)

Let’s get ready, it’s a time to meet and enjoy the company of your loved ones, so make sure you do all that that makes/brings y’all close and happy.

And like I said, generally speaking, the traditions might change. The things we do on Thanksgiving might change. But we must always aim for building up stronger relationship in our families and getting close to our loved ones.

Let’s not forget, a close and loving family makes a strong family. And a strong family makes a stronger Texas. And a stronger Texas, means a stronger United States. Let’s be a beacon of love and unity in our family and community to all other states of our beloved Country and even the whole world at large.

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* We don’t own any of images displayed. They belong to their respective owners. They are used here purely for illustration purposes.

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