I start this post letting my readers know
that I wrote this in November, 2007, as one of my final Journalism assignments
at University of Maryland. Here’s my grade: Grade: 49.50/50 - Excellent
By Carol Kagan
Gustavo Porto Moreira, the little Indian on stage,
was so excited to be in the Thanksgiving play that he did
"whoop-whoop-whoop" from his one-line cue to the absolute end of the
play. His brother, Bernardo, portrayed a pilgrim coming to America by boat,
complete with the wide-brimmed black hat and buckle.
In 2000, the boys themselves came to this country
from Brazil with their parents and are now participating in the American
Thanksgiving tradition. In addition to parades, football games and shopping,
immigrants like the Porto Moreiras use the time-honored Thanksgiving meal as
another way to integrate with their adopted country.
Thanksgiving is a unique American holiday based on
the immigrant experience of the Pilgrims and early colonists. Immigrants in the
Washington
area use it as an opportunity to blend home-country traditions and foods with
American ones.
Thanksgiving is the "ultimate immigrant holiday,"
said Alice Julier, president of the Association for the Study of Food and
Culture. "Thanksgiving is the number one national holiday in the United States
and participating provides a sense of national belonging. It's a way to
participate in the national identity and yet retain the cultural identity, too."
 |
| Brazilian Yuka |
The Porto Moreira family's traditional Brazilian
Christmas dinner features turkey or ham as the main course and includes yuka,
the flour of the cassava plant fried with garlic and onions. For Thanksgiving in
the U.S.,
they visit Brazilian friends where the meal includes turkey, corn pudding and
sweet potatoes with marshmallows.
"Brazilians usually want to do whatever the day
calls for," said Stella Porto. "If it's Thanksgiving, we'll do
turkey." However, Porto's husband and
chief family cook, Wayne Moreira, often prepares yuka on request for the
holiday meal.
The Thursday celebration of Thanksgiving is a
challenge for Meena Bipat, a native of Trinidad who came to the U.S. 17 years
ago. Bipat, a Hindu whose personal fast day is Thursday, serves a vegetarian
meal on Thanksgiving that includes potatoes and rice.
Bipat said her son, Dylan, told his class last year
that he had "turkeycake" for Thanksgiving. Bipat said she asked him why
he made up that story. "He said he didn't want to be different from the
other kids." This year on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, the family had a
meal which included more American dishes, serving roast chicken, potatoes, gravy,
and stuffing in addition to rice and other vegetarian dishes.
For many families the preparation of the meal is
part of the holiday tradition. Traditional foods usually take more time to prepare,
and the holiday allows people to spend more time in the kitchen.
 |
| Xalwa, sweet cake w/ butter & lots of sugar |
"Thanksgiving is a day we can get together
because everyone is off work," said Amal Kassim, a Somalia native who came
to the U.S. in 1984. "During the year we don't have time to spend in the
kitchen to do the baking and cooking of the traditional foods."
On Thanksgiving Day, Kassim's family prepares
traditional Somalian foods and American foods, a mixture of what everybody
likes. "We have married Americans and we share our traditional foods with
them and have the American ones, too," Kassim said. Some of the Somalian
foods include seasoned rice, salads, and special desserts such as xalwa, a
sweet cake made of butter and lots of sugar. Some of the American foods include
roast chicken with potatoes and gravy.
The gathering is also a time when the younger children can learn about
Somalian traditions and culture.
"Thanksgiving has always been a ritual where
immigrants have combined local, native American foods with those from the Old
World," said Warren Belasco, a professor of American Studies at the University
of Maryland Baltimore County. "Thus, the so-called Pilgrims ate turkey not
so much because the Indians ate it but because turkey was already popular back
in England."
 |
| Bashmeel, Egyptian macaroni dish |
Sawsan Said (Sy-ed), who came to the U.S. from Egypt 24
years ago, also mentioned the time commitment to make many of the traditional
meals. "Most of the year we don't have time to make special dishes,"
Said commented. She also celebrates Eid al-Fitr, where the main feast food is
traditionally seafood, a food that is avoided during the fast. Other feast
dishes include stuffed vegetables, and bashmeel, a macaroni dish with sauce and
mashed potatoes.
Said's family enjoys the traditional turkey, gravy,
and mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving. "It's the gathering more than what we
are eating that is the celebration," Said commented. On occasions when her
family is invited out for the holiday, Said may make an Egyptian dish of
bashmeel or a mashed potato recipe on a large tray.
Robert Tipple, who came here from Canada five years
ago, enjoys the traditional turkey along with parsnips and cauliflower,
vegetables he remembers having at Christmas dinners since he was young. One holiday
food tradition Tipple misses is Christmas pudding, brought to the table with a
liquor fueled flame.
In addition to immigrant families blending American
and home-country foods, finding foods and traditions from other cultures can
make Thanksgiving a more diverse holiday. Six-year-old Gustavo and
eight-year-old Bernardo Porto Moreira are at the ages where a flaming dessert
would be fun.
 |
| Christmas pudding |
- 30 –
Interviewed in person:
Ms. Meena Bipat (Trinidad) 301-985-7710
Ms. Amal Kassim (Somalia)
240-582-2801
Dr. Robert Tipple (Great
Britain/Canada) 240-582-2824
Dr. Stella Porto (Brazil)
301-985-7592
Ms. Sawsan Said (Egypt) 301-985-7825, (With use of the last name
for attribution I had to find other words instead of "said".)
Experts contacted:
Ms. Alice Julier 413-582-3512, President of the
Association for the Study of Food and Culture
Lecturer, Smith College - (I spoke to her by phone.)
Dr. Warren Belasco
410-455-2154, Professor of American
Studies, University of Maryland Baltimore County - (He responded with comments
on the article by e-mail.)
~ ~ ~ ~
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