Thanksgiving Weekend Traditions 2025: Present Meets Past Meets Present

Thanksgiving is,  simply put,  a harvest celebration.

And as I research,  study,  and understand history more,  the more I realize this holiday deserves to have a larger recognition than being considered the  "gateway to Christmas."

I mean,  I absolutely love  Christmas - the entire season - and it doesn't necessarily upset me that the Christmas season follows Thanksgiving directly,  but Thanksgiving as a whole and as a holiday deserves greater recognition on its own.

We,  in my family,  try to give it that recognition as Thanking God for what He has blessed us with,  in food,  in His many blessings,  and in what we have been able to accomplish...

Thanksgiving~

Holidays sure seem to sneak up on ya,  don't they?
I mean,  yeah,  you know they're coming---there's the date right on the calendar---but the days leading up to  "the big day"  comes pretty quick.

That was Thanksgiving Weekend for me.

I've had a pretty good autumn this year,  per mostly normal.  I've been able to historically celebrate the fall harvest a few times  (click HERE and HERE),  as well as enjoy the fall season at historic Greenfield Village.  

And I am proud to say that we in my family do not take part in Black Friday shopping.  Instead I head to Greenfield Village with my friends.  However,  on the Saturday following Thanksgiving we head up north to cut down our Christmas Tree.  That's our own Gateway to Christmas.

So let's take a gander at how my family celebrated Thanksgiving this year~~~~~~~:
Normally,  Patty will have a few of our grandkids over on the day before the big day to help prepare the harvest food.  Sadly,  this year there were fevers going around and we decided not to take a chance on catching anything.  So,  while Patty prepared for our feast,  I did the sweeping,  dusting,  bathroom cleaning,  and any help she might have needed.

I also did some decorating:

On the right is a whiskey decanter of a pilgrim woman churning butter.  Actually,  to me,  she looks a bit more early Victorian,  but what the hey---we'll take it,  right?
But there  'tis!
The Mayflower!
This just may be the finest replication of that most famous of sailing vessels - it comes in three sizes at the Plimoth Patuxet Museum,  and I chose the largest.  And I love that it's made of wood.  If I had one small disappointment,  it's that there are no flags a-flying.  I may rectify that in the future.
But for now...

What the---wait----this is an American holiday we're celebrating!

What's with the flags??

For Thanksgiving this year of 2025,  I decided to add to the decorations at my house.  I still have my corn stalks,  hay bales,  and gourds ~n~ pumpkins on my porch,  which I set up back in September  (and I do every year),  but this year for Thanksgiving I added the flags that flew over the Mayflower in 1620.

As I wrote at the beginning of this post,  focusing on Thanksgiving itself has been gaining momentum with us.  Our fall decor,  the Mayflower model,  and the historic flags all help in this regard.

I try to keep a certain old-time flair to our back room inside our home as well,  as you may or may not know.  Here,  check THIS out..

All set for Thanksgiving.
We added on our back room many years ago,  in 1999,  solely as a history room.
It oftentimes is my place of solace,  with a distinct difference between the colonial side and the Victorian side.

My grandson Liam asked about why the room had two different looks,  for I sort of split it in two - corner to corner.  Originally it was a full Victorian room,  though over the past few years I have been giving it more of a colonial flavor by way of walls and furniture.  Liam told me,  without question,  he liked the colonial look the best,  though since he has become infatuated with the Titanic,  he does like things from 1912.

Gotta love it!

Adding to the historic atmosphere.
For Thanksgiving and Christmas,  we eat by candle light.
That's our thing at our house;  our grandchildren will always remember the dining experience at Nonna and Papa's.

Patty preparing the turkey - - 
We have no open  (or even closed!)  hearth,  otherwise the bird just may have been cooked in that way.  So my wife uses the roaster.
You know,  I suppose if we really wanted to,  we could celebrate Thanksgiving at the Waterloo Cabin,  but that's just too long of a drive for everyone.  
Nope---I like it at our home.

As mentioned,  we very much enjoy eatling our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners by candlelight.

Here is a candle I have inside a glass globe.

Here is a two-candle candle holder that I purchased from a blacksmith friend of mine.

My friend,  Brian,  made this wall candle holder for me a few years back.  It holds my original 1757 pewter candlestick. 

Here is a tin wall-sconce giving a little light to a framed copy of the Declaration of Independence.  
It's America's 250th in just about seven months.

All candles that we use are homemade:  hand-dipped or by way of tin candle molds.

I do like to light one of my oil lamps,  especially the wall lamp I have. 
It looks quite grand next to the wall clock once belonging to my grandfather. 
I remember him telling me the clock was made in the 1890s. 
The oil lamp is the one and the same seen inside the 1880s Firestone Farm House
kitchen at historic Greenfield Village:

Here is the one at Firestone Farm House.
It was a dark and dingy day when I captured this image,  and,  for some reason, 
my camera gave it a more nighttime look.
But,  as you can see,  it looks exactly like mine.

And it's with this light that we enjoy our Thanksgiving harvest  meal.  In fact,  just recently,  my friend came over for dinner and commented on how our table set up reminded her of The Eagle Tavern  (mid-19th century),  located at Greenfield Village!

We've been doing this for decades.

My older grandkids  (and their Uncle Miles)  get their own table with their own candle.

Of course,  being of Sicilian descent,  we have the homemade cannoli
(yes,  we have pumpkin pie,  too,  made from real pumpkin!)~

The 2025 family photo!
Me,  my wife,  our kids,  our daughter-in-law,  and all six of our grandkids~~~
This is where my heart is - I love  'em every one!

Now,  the day after Thanksgiving - that horrid day known as black Friday - is not so horrible for me,  for the past two decades I've spent this day of shopping,  instead,  at the aforementioned Greenfield Village.

This year was no different.

November 28 was a rather cool,  blustery day,  but we - myself,  Charlotte,  and Amy - each had a cloak to wear that kept the cold at bay.

Of course,  a favorite stop of ours,  since we were in 18th century fashions,  was/is the Daggett Farm House.

Charlotte,  me,  and Amy.
We fit in perfectly with the Daggett house,  for none of us were dressed in
all-fancy clothing but,  instead,  more work and farm clothes.
And we blended in nicely with the Daggett presenters:

A group shot of us with our Daggett presenter friends:
Charlotte,  me,  Sarah,  Mary,  Rose,  and Amy.
More on our Black Friday visit to Greenfield Village next week~~

Of course,  for us,  the Saturday after Thanksgiving we do welcome Christmas by traveling north to Applegate,  Michigan to cut down our Christmas Tree at Western's Tree Farm.  I believe this is our 40th year going to this tree farm,  and,  like apple picking,  we go as a family:  my wife & I,  our kids,  and grandkids.  More than anything else,  it's about making memories.  And if you know me at all,  that's what I'm all about---making memories.

So on our way to Applegate we passed the area just south of Lexington where I spent most of my early life - Great Lakes Shores.  Just a few blocks from our family cottage is the Stone Castle - yes,  a cottage made from the stones from the beach of Lake Huron.

The Stone Castle.

If you look closely and maybe even squint you will be able to see a great lakes freighter there on Lake Huron.  Soon,  all freighter shipping will end until springtime.  The water gets too dangerous - the gales of November turn into the gales of December,  January,  and February.  And even March.

Lake Huron~
We have such beautiful sights here in Michigan.  And two of our grandkids rode with us,  so I gave them a bit of history and family history as we drove around the area.  This was great!

Then off we went to Western's.  Roughly about another half hour drive.

The very familiar log cabin.
I remember when this place had only a little white shack!
Then they built the welcoming cabin.

I had heard they've been around doing Christmas Trees since 1949.
We've been coming here since,  I believe,  1985.

Our tractor ride out to our favorite tree - Blue Spruce.
As you can see,  there was a light dusting of snow on the ground.

My son,  his wife,  and their six kids---all bundled up for the cold weather.

There was also two horses and a cart.

The horses and cart gave a tour of the farm rather than take folks out to the trees and then pick them up afterward like the tractors did.

Western's always has a great selection of Christmas Trees.

There's our tree!
No shining light from the skies like in Christmas Vacation.

Me 2nd oldest son,  Robbie,  went straight to work in sawing it down, 
and did a fine job,  too!
There's my wife holding the tree for him.
I just can't do this sort of thing anymore without causing great back pain.

Tim-m-mbe-errrr!!

I trimmed the bottom branches.

My oldest son,  Tommy,  and his family found their perfect tree - - 

It reminds me of when I let Tommy cut down our tree for his first time.
He was so excited,  as was his eldest son,  Ben.

Here is my grandson Ben doing the honors this year - so cool!

Once the trees are cut,  we get them back to where they are wrapped.

And home we go where we prepwre our tree for decorating.

This year we decided to decorate the following day - Sunday.

And we got a bit of snow.  Not much in our area, 
but within a short drive from our house,  inches and feet fell.

I love snow,  but I was glad it fell after we returned home rather than during our drive.

Now,  in past years - going back and back and back and back...- decorating our Christmas Tree has always been a family affair.  This year,  not so much.  My eldest has his own family and they decorate together.  My second eldest is a paramedic and had to work a late shift.  My youngest has health issues that at this time prevent her from doing many of the things she loves,  such as helping to decorate our tree.  My youngest son,  however,  lives with us and therefore was able to help!

So it was a much quieter decorating process this year.  

That's okay---the tree still looks great - perfect for 2025!

There was a crooked man who chopped a crooked tree...
the bottom of the trunk is straight,  the middle leans left,  and the very top is straight.
That's what happens with a real tree---and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Lights off!  Yes, we have candles on the tree,  and we'll light them when our grandkids
come over.  In the meantime,  we still thank Thomas Edison for the electric light!

From Google:
Edward H.  Johnson,  an associate of Thomas Edison,  invented the first string of electric Christmas lights for a tree,  hand-wiring 80 red,  white,  and blue bulbs around his Christmas tree in 1882.  While Johnson was the first to put electric lights on a tree,  his partner Thomas Edison had developed the first strand of electric lights in 1880,  which he used to decorate the outside of his Menlo Park laboratory. 

Yes,  so whether or not we want it to be,  Thanksgiving just may be  the gateway to the Christmas Season to some extent.  However,  we in my family still try to celebrate this harvest holiday for what it is.  And there's no more three-inch thick newspapers delivered on Black Friday filled with store advertisements.  There's also no more  "early bird"  sales so people who want the best deals would have to stand in lines at 2,  3,  or 4 in the morning to get that most important  "gotta have"  gifts.

Oh---and remember when stores would be open on Thanksgiving Day afternoon?
Simply horrible - a total take-away from the holiday,  almost ruining the Spirit and true meaning of Thanksgiving AND  Christmas.  Thank the Lord that has stopped.

My wife and I can hold our heads up high and proudly state we've never taken part in such a thing.  And because of that,  I look at Thanksgiving now as more of a separate harvest gathering holiday rather than be attached to Christmas.  

Until next time,  see you in time.  

To read about early America's Thanksgiving celebrations,  please click HERE
To read about a Victorian Thanksgiving celebration,  please click HERE

 Happy Thanksgiving~