"the family is the unit of cultural preservation."

November 27, 2014 7:10 AM

"Eat Turkey, Become American." (SLNYTimes essay)
posted by roomthreeseventeen (10 comments total)

Domestic Turkeys were introduced to the North American colonies from Europe.
posted by Samuel Farrow at 8:55 AM on November 27, 2014

Cite?
posted by benito.strauss at 9:44 AM on November 27, 2014

The English colonies got their first breeds from Mexico via Europe, yes, but your phrasing does leave out a rather key part of the history.
posted by tavella at 11:35 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]

And on a more directly related note, this is a lovely little essay.
posted by tavella at 11:40 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]

Perfect essay for turkey day. Reminds me to be thankful for family.
posted by valkane at 11:53 AM on November 27, 2014

James G. Dickson, National Wild Turkey Federation (U.S.), United States. Forest Service The Wild turkey: biology and management Stackpole Books, 1992 ISBN 0-8117-1859-X
posted by Samuel Farrow at 12:05 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]

This kind of immigrant-meets-Thanksgiving essay is a newspaper staple this time of year. As the daughter of immigrants, I eat them up (pun intended) and never tire of them. No matter what country the immigrants are from (the Philippines, Iran, Vietnam, Poland, Brazil) I can always see some of my own family's experience reflected. That's one of the many reasons I love Thanksgiving so much.
posted by Pocahontas at 12:18 PM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]

In my family, we celebrate Thanksgiving as the day we got permission to leave the USSR.
posted by I-Write-Essays at 1:47 PM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]

It was the ultimate gift my parents could have given their children, of optimism and safety, the feeling that the next Thanksgiving would be a lot like this one, a predictable celebration of abundance and family.

My grandparents were the immigrants, but this really hit home for me. It makes the stress worth it when I think of it this way.
posted by ob1quixote at 6:13 PM on November 27, 2014

I want to eat songpyeon now. I've never heard of them before, but they're dumplings, so I want to eat them.

(And now I see that they're basically Korean mochi. I wouldn't necessarily call that a dumpling. Still want to eat them, though.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:34 PM on November 27, 2014