Thanksgiving is right around the corner and for many college students, Thanksgiving break is already in full swing. This is the time of year where we go home, spend quality time with our families, reflect on what we are thankful for, and most of all, eat! Let's be honest, the holiday that is about being thankful has always truly been about food. When we think of Thanksgiving, most of us don’t think about our nation's history, or even traditions like the Thanksgiving parade or football; we think of turkey. And not the happy living animal, the dead one that you will be eating. For me, I think of my Grandma's homemade stuffing (because its delicious). In my home, my mom cooks for days, making everything from sweet potatoes with marshmallows and yam, to string-bean casserole and squash. To put it lightly, it's wonderful and I always assumed that the entire country had similar Thanksgiving traditions, but surprisingly this is not the case.
This assumption of mine was squashed due to an online poll done by the website Five Thirty Eight. The website turned to the online surveying platform Survey Monkey and asked Americans about their Thanksgiving traditions. Some findings were exactly what you’d expect: 82 percent of 931 people polled declared that their main dish is turkey. However, when it comes to side dishes the country is extremely regionally divided. This is clearly seen in the photo below.
The most surprising of all is the amount of people who feel salad is the most notable side dish. I have never had salad as a side dish on Thanksgiving and when I asked friends of mine about it, neither had they. But, this is not surprising because most of my friends are from the northeast where according to the poll, we love squash. However, I did ask a friend of mine from this "salad loving region" if salad was on his thanksgiving table and he said, "No, it totally was not."
I was also surprised by the 35 percent of people in the southeast region who love macaroni and cheese. Yes, I think we would all agree that macaroni and cheese is delicious, but for Thanksgiving?! Along with this, a large portion of north easterners (56 percent of people polled) felt squash was a must have on the holiday table but only 18 percent of people in the country as a whole felt the same way. The rest of the country's choices, cornbread, green beans/casserole, and rolls/biscuits are not as surprising to this New Yorker. However, some Thanksgiving staples seem to be missing from this list. What about sweet potatoes and corn? I guess they simply didn't make the cut.
So while you're preparing for your food-filled day, think about the other traditions around the country. What are your Texan or Floridian friends eating? is it different than your favorites? Whatever you're eating and whomever you spend this holiday with don't forget to thank those who have made your live (and your meal) special.
