Thanksgiving Traditions

Everyone has their own special traditions for Thanksgiving. Some are family traditions, some are historical, and some are just plain odd. I happen to have both a traditional family one and and odd one.

The family one is pretty standard - we gather to overeat, maybe watch some football, maybe play some cards, and generally just chill and relax. With both Mother and Mother-in-Law here in town, it generally means venturing to one of their homes for the day. Once in a while it has been at our place, especially while our son was still at home. In a few more years I suspect it will be here once again. But for now it means venturing the *huge* distance to their houses. (8-12 blocks max - that *huge* was sarcasm just in case you are humor impaired.)

My odd tradition is one begun amidst a group of my friends a number of years ago. It at first started as a joke and then grew into a tradition. Every Thanksgiving day, we gather on the golf course and play a game of cross country golf. Our rules are pretty simple. Each person stands on a tee box and calls the green and the par for the upcoming hole. I.e. I might be on the first tee and declare the hole to be a par 8 to the 3rd green. After that "hole", the next person does the same until all of the group have called a hole. Given that the weather is typically in the teens and about half the time there is snow and ice on the ground, the golf is not the object of the game. The real objective is a chance for us to enjoy some comraderie and exercise (this is a walking event) before we adjourn to our respective traditional Thanksgiving celebrations.

It started when several of my friends' sons were in high school. They are now approaching thirty and make it a point each year to play Thanksgiving cross country golf. In some cases I suspect that the golf tradition is more important than the meal. For at least some of them, it is the only time during the year they even pick up a club. Over the years we have gained several other players, including some out of town guests that now make the journey to play.

One year it was in the 70's, one year it was -4. Makes no difference, we just tend to call shorter holes to make up for the bundles of clothes and gloves we have on. Some years we have to pick a post or tree as the hole and declare the ball in if we get within a few feet. That happens when the snow and ice have buried the greens. Needless to say, this is a game where many balls are lost.

It is strange to contemplate this odd Thanksgiving tradition, but we enjoy it none the less. So what is your odd Thanksgiving tradition?