Our Indian-American Multicultural Thanksgivings

Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday — the one holiday where the commonality is family, food and gratitude. After immigrating here in 1966, my parents began incorporating American traditions for our family as we assimilated into the culture. My mom doesn’t remember when she started making a traditional Thanksgiving dinner but says it just happened organically, like celebrating the other American holidays. While some Indian families may have started out with traditional Thanksgiving dinners, over time our Indian food crept onto the table. It started out first by accommodating the aunties and uncles who may not enjoy American food as much. Out of respect, a few items would be added for them: dal, a couple of sabzi’s, rice, roti, to ensure that everyone had something to eat. People would also bring desserts saying, “maybe auntie and uncle would like gulab jamun, gajjar halwa or kheer.” These additions did not go unnoticed by others. After eating the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, folks would veer over and take seconds from the Indian food at the table. <a href="https://punita-7478.medium.com/our-indian-american-multicultural-thanksgivings-9e803e29d00e">Click Here</a>