Families all across the country will be celebrating Thanksgiving this week, a day which appears to have surpassed Christmas as the favorite holiday for millions of folks. It’s all about camaraderie and food and not about commercialization and gifts, which unfortunately is now the focus of Christmas rather than its celebration as a religious holiday.

It’s the busiest day for the airlines, not to mention buses, trains and highway travel. It’s a day of togetherness as family members and friends gather around the table to enjoy home-cooked food and fellowship. The menu varies from family to family, and while turkey is the traditional main course in many homes, it can also be ham, duck or lobster.

Nobody seems sure what the Pilgrims and Indians enjoyed for their first feast in 1621 but most agree that the Indians brought five deer to the three-day feast.  We wish they’d show up at our table; while a few lucky Maine families may have venison on Thursday, most of us will not. Historians can’t seem to agree on whether or not turkey was on the menu way back then, but most assume it probably was, although other wild birds, ducks, and goose were equally as popular. The jury is still out as to whether or not they ate fish and lobster.  Fish, yes, but until a few decades ago, lobster wasn’t considered something to eat, let alone a luxury food. It’s entirely possible, however, that lobster was one of the dishes served to the Pilgrims since the Indians discovered what was inside the shell of a lobster long before the rest of us did.

Anyway, we’d have been pleased to share Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims and Indians as they dined on venison, turkey, fish, duck, and lobster. Sounds like a feast for a king! We wouldn’t even have minded that white potatoes and cranberry sauce weren’t a part of the menu.

Over the generations, it’s really never mattered what is served for Thanksgiving dinner, only that those around the table share food and conversation with close family members and friends. We all know we’re fortunate to have plenty of food on our plate and it’s important we remember the millions around the world who aren’t so fortunate. Please think of them on Thanksgiving, and remember that the holiday’s very name means giving thanks for what you have.