My Father, ever the loving and consiterate guy he was didn’t like turkey, and hence out T-ing dinners were either eaten out (not easy to find a resturant open on that day I tell you) or were sans turkey. I swear I didn’t celebrate a proper American T-ing untill I was in my teens.
Of course afetr I got big and a life of my own I started the tradition as it should be. Our dinners were usually around 4 pm or so. Late enough to call it supper and early enough to go to others homes if we felt so inclined.But, I usually stayed home to be disapointed when the Lions lost and the Cowboys won. BTW, I hate pumpkin pie. Our traditional desset as always requested by LittleTel is Cheesecake.
Xmas on the otherhand was no Turkey. Usually a biggole ham or a beef roast. (I don’t want to eat turkey again a month latter) Usually theis was when the big crowd of family showed up. Mind you, I married into a real family that did those types of things. Dessert consisted of LOTS of pies and cookies.
FWIW, The meal at Easter was just as important and just as big.
Well, I do consider my question well and truly answered; however, people seem to be enjoying this ramble (and hey, we all gotta eat), so perhaps a Mod would be kind enough to re-pot this hothouse flower in, say, In My Humble Opinion?
Use lots of mulch, and please don’t step on the begonias.
Thanks all!
Damn, Jonathan Chance beat me to it (“Halftime?”) by only about five pages… 
For my family, Thanksgiving dinner was always served around 2 (sometimes as late as 3 or 4). Turkey, stuffing, yams or sweet potatoes, cranberries from the can, cornbread, mushrooms, and pumpkin pie. We always rooted against the Cowboys, whoever they were playing.
Christmas dinner was served during the regular dinner hour or two, but the main dish was definitely a tradition of our own: whenever possible, it was/is black mullet with roe, steamed, and served in a deep dish, swimming in soy sauce and sesame oil, with finely chopped scallions and grated ginger on top. I think it’s partly a Japanese-American-by-way-of-Hawaii thing, and partly just our family’s own nuttiness. (At least we didn’t invent “Festivus”.) In recent years it’s been hard to obtain a suitable mullet, though, due to its popularity in Japan; the Japanese market normally has a standing order to buy up all the available black mullet (traditionally a “poor man’s fish” to Americans) with roe, as it’s considered a delicacy there. I’m sure the cultural bias favoring the roe-bearing females as a particular treat hasn’t helped sustain the fishery stock, so who knows if the tradition will be sustainable for future generations.
When I was younger, I admittedly wasn’t very enthusiastic about it (and for years was afraid to try the roe), but finally took to it in my teens and now miss it. The roe, especially.
Usually roast beef or pork, in my family, but we had beef stew one year because my mom was tired of cleaning roasting pans. Dessert at our house is usually Christmas cookies and some sort of cake, but I expect this varies a lot. There really isn’t a standard American Christmas menu; some families have one traditional meal, others (like mine) have to decide every year. I was a bit surprised when I learned that Christmas turkey was obligatory for Brits.
Do the Canadians eat turkey too?