The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/thanksgiving/)
Last year, I wrote a column titled “20 Things to be Thankful for in 2020: Cornell Edition” to encourage Cornellians to be thankful in spite of the struggles of the pandemic. Rereading that article is just a glimpse into how drastically our lives were changed by the start of the 2020 pandemic.
The smells, sights, tastes and drunk uncles of Thanksgiving make it the national holiday that we know and love. Turkey drowned in gravy and cranberry sauce, cornbread that crumbles in your mouth and heaping plates of mashed potatoes all come to mind as Thanksgiving classics. Sadly, much of this delicious nourishment contains gluten.
Celiac disease, a disease in which the small intestine is unable to process wheat, rye and barley, affects about 1% of the population, including myself. As the holiday season nears, I often get asked, “What do you even eat?” and “Wait, you can’t have bread?” followed by a look of astonishment. To give non-celiac individuals a look into my holiday rituals, I’ve composed a brief guide to a gluten free Thanksgiving.
Go crazy on the cranberry sauce
This step is relatively easy, as everyone loves cranberry sauce.
Most of these cases came from spread within households and small gatherings, usually Thanksgiving celebrations and holiday parties.
I want to love Thanksgiving ー family, friends and an abundance of food ー but I have never really been a Thanksgiving person. Thanksgiving has the classic foods that everyone looks forward to, but I just don’t get what’s so special. Turkeys kind of freak me out because they’re so big, sure cranberry sauce is good but it’s over-hyped and I don’t understand why mashed potatoes are typified as a Thanksgiving food. For all the whining I do about Thanksgiving, it’s hard to not get caught up in the spirit of it. Fall is my favorite season ー the leaves change colors, everything is so crisp and it finally starts to get cold.
As we wrap up semi-finals and transition to break, most students seem excited to go home and celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s been a long and fast-paced semester without many breaks, and being able to relax will come as a relief. For many Cornellians, this holiday is an opportunity to catch up with loved ones and express what we’re grateful for. However, it’s important to recognize the origins of our traditions and critically examine the history that we teach.
Many American students are still taught the story of Thanksgiving as a peaceful event that celebrated the unity between pilgrims and Native Americans. However, this is far from the truth.
A Salvadoran-American Perspective
For the first time in almost four years, many Americans feel tentatively proud of their country. Tireless encouragement to vote has helped prove that community support can unite a country divided and reestablish American values of truth, integrity and respect. As such, it seemed appropriate to take a look at the new meanings Thanksgiving may hold this year; Samai Navas, a recent Salvadoran-American immigrant and close family friend, shares what her All (Salvadoran) American Thanksgiving has come to represent over the years.
It’s worth noting that the typical modern Thanksgiving symbolizes and commemorates an ideal that only existed for a very short time. While there is some truth behind the story of a peaceful feast between European settlers and the Wampanoag people in 1621, this calm did not last. Between the years of 1630 and 1642, plague tore through Native communities, resulting in the death of more than half of all Native Americans living at the time.
Cornell’s modified Thanksgiving break schedule leaves students with tight window between exams and move out dates.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, what better way to celebrate the holidays than with a delicious, mouth-watering apple pie? To prepare for this feast, instead of wrapping your head around how to carve a turkey, follow these basic steps to create an apple pie that will certainly not disappoint. This recipe was adapted from my dear family friend, Maggie, who is a modern Betty Crocker. Each year when my family and I visit her beautiful summer house in Long Beach Island, I always look forward to making this pie with her.
Does “vegan Thanksgiving” sound like an oxymoron? To many in America, it might be a completely novel idea. But for me, a vegan Thanksgiving is normal, as I have eaten a plant-based diet (a term for a diet consisting of foods derived from plants, with no animal products whatsoever) for the past 10 years.
While food is often what brings us all together, it’s the company and people you surround yourself with that leads to extended trips, family yoga classes, snuggling up on the couch to watch a movie or sticking around for breakfast the day after.