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Tomorrow’s the big day when most of us set aside the pressures of commuting and work to sit down with family and friends for a Thanksgiving feast. Our family, like yours, has certain favorite dishes that only appear on Thanksgiving. For example, my wife has been making a delicious squash-apple bake for years, and the family would freak out if it wasn’t part of the spread. My sister makes an unbelievable nine-layer jello. My sister-in-law always provides the world’s best party mix – an improvement on the Chex mix stuff that’s heavy on butter and garlic and impossible to stop eating. But if you want to go really old school, and I mean really old school, then consider what was on the table way back in 1621 for the Pilgrim’s first Thanksgiving.

The experts say these things were most likely found on that initial Thanksgiving table:

Oysters, Cod, Striped Bass, and Eel
Wild Fowl
Venison
Onions and Leeks
Corn
Pumpkin
Watercress

Most of these things you can still get, although I doubt that many of you will be serving up “wild fowl.” I don’t think Butterball turkeys fall into that category. But whatever are your family traditions tomorrow: enjoy, celebrate, and be thankful for spending precious time with the people you love.