Happy Thanksgiving, WA! 2023

(Title image created with DALL-E 3 - Complete with Strat guitar & Marshall amps, Lol)

Hi, WA Friends!

This post is a day early, but I'll be in no shape to write it tomorrow! Lol

Wishing all our American friends a Happy Thanksgiving!

The Canadian Thanksgiving already happened, and I hope you all had a great one!

Differences Between the American and Canadian Version

I'll take the easy way out and ask our friend ChatGPT4:

American and Canadian Thanksgiving are similar in spirit but differ in their histories, dates, and some customs.

1. Historical Origins:
2. • American Thanksgiving: Traces back to 1621, celebrated by the Pilgrims at Plymouth, Massachusetts, as a harvest feast shared with the Wampanoag Native Americans.
   • Canadian Thanksgiving: Often linked to the explorer Martin Frobisher's 1578 celebration of his safe arrival in present-day Nunavut. It also has roots in harvest festivals.
3. Date of Celebration:
4. • American Thanksgiving: Observed on the fourth Thursday of November.
   • Canadian Thanksgiving: Celebrated on the second Monday of October.
5. Cultural Significance:
6. • American Thanksgiving: Has become a significant cultural holiday in the United States, often associated with the start of the holiday season, including Black Friday.
   • Canadian Thanksgiving: While important, it's generally less commercially and culturally pervasive than its American counterpart.
7. Traditional Foods:
8. • Both celebrations typically feature similar foods like turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. However, there may be slight variations in recipes or additional dishes depending on regional and cultural influences.
9. Public Holiday Status:
10. • American Thanksgiving: A major public holiday in the United States, leading to significant travel and family gatherings.
    • Canadian Thanksgiving: Also a public holiday, but with less emphasis on large-scale travel and shopping events compared to the U.S.
11. Associated Traditions:
12. • American Thanksgiving: Famous for parades (like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade), American football games, and the commencement of Christmas shopping season.
    • Canadian Thanksgiving: More focused on the harvest and giving thanks, with less emphasis on large parades or football games.
13. Historical Evolution:
14. • American Thanksgiving: Became a national holiday in 1863, proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln.
    • Canadian Thanksgiving: Officially became a national holiday in 1879; however, the date fluctuated until it was fixed in 1957.

How did AI do? Please feel free to add anything you feel is missing!

My "Italian" Thanksgiving!

I've spoken about this many times in the past, so I'll make it brief.

The Italian Americans feel the need to make every holiday "more Italian," Lol

Our Thanksgiving has always been just another reason to get the family together to have fun and eat way too much! Finding the "ceremonious turkey" is like playing "Where's Waldo!"

Here's our basic 15-step Thanksgiving workflow:

1. Shop for food and begin cooking and preparing things weeks in advance

2. Deliver a lot of the food to a central location 1 to 2 days in advance

3. Begin the feast at about 1 P.M. with appetite stimulant drinks, the "Aperitivo," including a Bellini, Aperol Spritz, and Negroni.

4. Antipasto (before pasta or the first course of the main meal) time! The antipasto is so extensive it occupies its own table!

5. The pasta dish; usually two types, one with red and the other with white sauce.

6. Lots of hollering about the order of how the meat dishes should come out.

7. The "secondo" meat dish with everything you can imagine, including a turkey that no one is really interested in, but has a piece to mark the occasion.

8. Veggies, enough to gag a maggot! lol

9. "Digestant (Digestif) drink time!; even though there was more wine than you can imagine throughout the meal. We're talkin' Grappa, Sambuca, Drambuie, and the "big gun" (usually reserved for those with abdominal discomfort) Fernet-Branca! There's always a big fight over the actual "secret ingredients" that it's made from!

10. The fight for the couches and comfortable chairs to sleep off the tryptophan, booze, and the GI shunt of blood away from the brain! I've been asked to explain how it works ever since I was in medical school. You'd think they'd be sick of the same explanation again and again by now! Lol

11. The neighborhood stroll; for the brave few that dare to add a little exercise to the festivities. It's fun to watch them drag others out the door that don't want to go, kicking and screaming! Hahaha

12. Fruit and Nut time. Out comes more fruit than you can imagine; dry figs are a favorite! You wash it all down with more wine and then move onto a huge bowl of nuts that have to be in their shells, or all hell would break loose. I've been hit in the face more than once by a flying shell, but luckily I wear glasses. Lol

13. Another food intermission, where everyone retires to the "parlor" to have a Sweet liqueur like limoncello or Grand Marnier, talk about getting ready for the Christmas meal, and (for some reason I still can't figure out) who died since the last get together.

14. Desert and Espresso time, with more desserts than you'd find in a small bakery! My mother used to make 10 to 12 Thanksgiving pies and cakes! The end seems near, but this can go on for hours! People start to think about going home at 10 PM!

15. The next day get-together to eat the leftovers and drink some more! 😃

Haha, I guess there's no way to really make it brief! 😎

What About You?

Tell me about what you have lined up to celebrate the holiday!

Happy Turkey Day, WA, AND ...

Keep On Rockin'! 🤘🦃
Frank 🎸

~ 60% Human-written content.