Over the holiday weekend, many of you were likely eating turkey, since it’s a tradition for occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I’m the odd one out.
At times, my family can be quite traditional in terms of their ideologies, beliefs and behaviours. But the one custom we no longer practice regularly is eating turkey at festivities.
My grandfather ate most of what my grandmother cooked for the duration of their 50 years of marriage. One day after her death nearly seven years ago, he told us he is not a huge fan of the taste of turkey. My family knew immediately we could make do for something else, and as a result, we often enjoy untraditional feasts at events like Thanksgiving.
A new annual family tradition since my grandmother’s death is to travel to Presque-Isle, Maine, as a family and enjoy a dinner at Bonanza Steakhouse. This tradition almost always includes myself, my younger brother, mother, father and grandfather, along with my aunt, uncle and two cousins. This year was the first time my aunt’s side of the family was unable to join.
We made the one-hour trek to the nice, quaint community last Sunday morning. We crossed the Centreville-Bridgewater border terminal and arrived at Bonanza shortly before the restaurant opened at 11 a.m. Rather than order a menu item as we usually do, most of us ordered salad bar only to avoid feeling rotten for the remainder of the day (a side effect of eating as much as possible).
After going back for seconds (and eventually thirds), we went shopping before heading home.
Our untraditional Christmas dinner will be enjoyed on Canadian soil but, like Thanksgiving, will not involve any turkey.
