How to Create an Eclectic Pagan Thanksgiving
Three Harvest Sabbats or Festivals are Lughnasadh, Mabon and Samhain
Nov 1, 2009
Two accounts of the first Thanksgiving feast still exist. Fowl, venison, fish and wheat bread were served. Although not mentioned, wild rice, rabbit, goose, shellfish, barley, beans, squash, cranberries, carrots, pumpkins, popcorn, nuts and corn were available in 1621. Some of these foods are also served at Pagan Sabbats. It’s the same with both holidays’ decorations.
Deck the Rooms with Pagan Harvest Symbols and Celebrate
Autumn finery includes potted, dried or silk fall flowers, baskets of fruit, gourds, acorns, cornucopias, Indian corn and sheaves of oat, wheat and barley.
Fall colors of yellow, orange, gold, brown russet and rust predominate a Pagan fall gathering. Dishes of apples, pomegranates and spiced crabapples are shared and savored while participants tell stories about their blessings.
Pagan Thanksgiving Recipes
Traditional food and drink served at Harvest Festivals feasts are berries, fruit (especially apples, pomegranates and crab apples), grains, bread, cake, vegetables (squash, corn, beets, turnips and pumpkins featured) nuts, meat, gingerbread, wine, apple flavored liqueur and juice.
- Faux Lobster with browned or black butter – Put 1 1/2 pounds of fresh or defrosted cod (cut into 2 inch square pieces) in a non-stick pan. Barely cover with water. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of paprika. Boil, then simmer for approximately 10 minutes or until done. Drain and cover with cold water. Add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Boil again. Drain. Serve with browned or black butter and sliced lemon. To get browned butter, put butter in a pan and cook over high or moderate heat, stirring constantly until it’s a light tan color. Remove pan from heat. Black butter, also called beurre noir, is cooked a bit longer than browned butter.
- Roast Duck with Apple Glaze – Blend 1/2 cup apple jelly with 2 tablespoons of apple juice in a saucepan. Heat until jelly is melted. Put 1 (1 1/2 pound) of duck (innards removed) on rack in a roasting pan. Roast at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until thigh juices are clear, pricking skin with fork and basting every 15 minutes. Roasting times for duck are 30 to 35 minutes per pound.
- Baby Corn and Peppers – In a 1-quart microwavable casserole, combine 2 cups of chopped bell peppers, 1 pound of baby corn, 1 clove of minced garlic, 3 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of dry sherry. Toss to coat vegetables, cover and microwave on high 4 to 5 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time. Combine 1 Tablespoon each, teriyaki sauce and water, 1 teaspoon of each cornstarch and balsamic vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil in a saucepan, stirring until cornstarch is dissolved. Add vegetable mixture and cook over low heat until sauce is thickened.
- Oven Roasted Zucchini and Green, Wax, Lima and Kidney Beans with Walnuts – Slice 1 large zucchini and 1 pound each of fresh green and wax beans. Add a half cup of chopped walnuts. Coat with equal amounts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Roast at 400 degrees for one hour, stirring after 30 minutes. Add 1 can of drained and rinsed kidney and lima beans or 1 (16 ounce) package frozen lima beans. Return to oven to heat through.
- Blueberries Jubilee – Put 2 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/4 cup of water in pot. Boil, then simmer until berries combine with other ingredients. Sauce can be refrigerated until serving time. Simmer 2 more cups of blueberries until plump. Add sauce. Create a dramatic effect by turning off electric lights! Pour 1/4 of cup brandy over mixture and ignite with a long match or long-handled butane lighter on feast table. Serve over vanilla ice cream or lemon sherbet. Serves 6.
Suggestions and Trivia for Preparing the Pagan Feast
Browned butter has a nut-like flavor while black butter , which might have been accidently discovered when someone overcooked it, is slightly bitter. Goose and other fowls can be substituted for duck. Roasting times for duck are given because some people would like to roast a larger duck. Adjudice the sauce ingredients for the size of the bird. Other vegetables can be added or substitued for oven roasted ones. Other berries and cherries can be "jubileed."
Turkey is the traditional entree for Thanksgiving. Benjamin Franklin proposed wild turkey, not the eagle, should be the national bird. He didn't like eagles for reasons he wrote in a letter to his daughter. It's possible that the turkeys on the first Thanksgiving table might have been British domestic fowl. Spanish explorers brought turkeys, native to America, to Europe from Mexico in the 1500s. They were easy to domesticate and raising these birds spread through Europe. Turkeys were part of the cargo on the Pilgrims' Mayflower.
Articles Related to an Eclectic Pagan Thanksgiving
Readers who enjoyed this article might like How to Celebrate a Pagan Thanksgiving, along with Pagan Symbolism in Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving's Pagan Roots.
Sources:
- The Celtic Druids’ Year, John King, (Blandford, 1995).
- The Food Book, James Trager, (Grossman Publishers, 1970).
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