The Thanksgiving Conundrum

Since childhood I have pondered the difference between dressing and stuffing. For the past fifty or so Thanksgivings, the subject has crossed my mind. Is it simply a matter of location or are they actually different? Maybe it’s a cultural thing or perhaps it’s a regional thing and semantics are to blame for the confusion. Personally, if I were to be given a vote on the matter, I would go with dressing. It is certainly more appealing to say that this food or that makes the entire meal fancier than it is to imagine ingesting something that emerged from the dark internal recesses of a turkey unprotected by shell. Yep, I’ll go with “dressing.”

And then there is cranberry sauce. Before I go any further I will confess a bias against the substance.

When her children were young, my mother found it interesting to have her progeny try different things. In my case she found a great deal of pleasure in watching me sample various culinary delights. To a casual observer it would be obvious that the less delightful I found the delight to be, the more delightful my mother found my facial contortions to be.  I have yet to decide if this side of my mother arose from a loving desire to expand my horizons or from the Mrs. Hyde within. Personally, if I were to be given a vote on the matter, Mrs. Hyde would win, but that’s just me. One way or the other, Mom’s shenanigans stopped when the ambrosia forced upon me at the tender age of seven was returned to sender via airmail. I think the enjoyment was diminished a bit for Mom after that.   

One of these experiments dealt with cranberry sauce. I distinctly remember being confused. Was this substance in my mouth a solid or a liquid, animal or vegetable, good or bad, dead or alive? For the life of me I couldn’t tell, and that lack of certainty remains with me to this day; and, in turn, I cannot bring myself to revisit the experiment.

Now the Thanksgiving turkey, I understand. Let me explain.

First of all there are two basic entrées associated with Thanksgiving and Christmas, at least according to my reckoning. As a rule, depending upon the holiday, either a turkey or a ham makes up the bulk of the meal.

​Now my Mom, being Mom, liked to shake things up from time to time with the likes of raw oysters or burritos, but I think we can all agree that Mom had a culinary screw loose. For those of you who prefer adventurous gastronomy, my Mom’s forays into the epicurean wilderness would have been enchanting; but for those of us who prefer plates with little compartments to separate our dressing from our stuffing and our cranberry sauce from everything else, Mom’s wanderings were a certifiable nightmare. But like my mother before me I find myself wandering. Let me return to the subject at hand: ham or turkey?

From my observations I have discovered that in most cases, ham is reserved for Christmas while turkey is for Thanksgiving with the leftovers spanning the month in-between. I have often wondered why these two foods were chosen for such honorable tasks. I think I may have found the reason.

Christmas, Santa Claus aside, is designed to be a celebration of one miraculous and beautiful event: the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ and His incarnation is why Christmas exists. Without Christ there is no Christmas, and no I don’t care what anyone says about it. Christ is Christmas and Christmas is Christ.

The humble ham is a relatively boring, if not tasty entrée. There is just so much you can do with a ham. From my experience ham tastes pretty much the same no matter from where you take a bite. From the outer edge to the bone the ham is relatively unchanged. It tastes like ham. It looks like ham. It’s ham.

Ham is the perfect food when only one thing is being celebrated. There are few distractions when you sit down and eat a ham. There are few decisions to be made when a ham is set before you; thin or thick slices, that’s about it. I love ham; it fits well into my entrée compartment.

Now the turkey is another matter altogether. From the dark meat to the white meat, from the breast to the leg, from the neck to the giblets; the turkey has many facets, many tastes, and many textures to revel in and savor. Now in that Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate the myriad gifts that our Lord has rained down upon us; the turkey is the perfect Thanksgiving table centerpiece.  

I love Thanksgiving. I love it for several reasons, but for me at least the main reason is family. In my line of work the Christmas season is very busy, and while others enjoy some time off with family and friends, I am often occupied with the various duties that are specific to my chosen vocation during the holiday season. So Thanksgiving is the time when I bask in the glow of family.

Thanksgiving is that one day a year, when I can look around the table and marvel, without distraction, at all of the blessings that surround me. Not only that, but I also marvel at the blessed memories that return those long since gone back into the familial fold; as the matriarchs and patriarchs of the past populate the family portrait in my mind.

My prayer for each and every one of you is this:

I pray that on this Thanksgiving, no matter your circumstance, no matter your station, you take the time to reflect upon the wonderful gifts God has given you in this life.

I pray that we all can take the day, this one day and be thankful and joyous. We can all return to the pushing and shoving, to the angst and anxiety, and to the incessant clamor of the world later. On this Thanksgiving Day I pray that you enjoy your family, enjoy your friends and give thanks to the God of peace and love who makes it all possible.

Love,
Pastor Tony