The relative dearth of Thanksgiving movies meant that Laurence Brown grew up in Britain only knowing about Thanksgiving from the film Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. The actual celebration plays a very small part in that movie, since it's from the point of view of a man just trying to get home on time. So is it any wonder that Brown was completely mistaken on what it's all about?
It's about the food. More specifically, it's about the bountiful American harvest, so the traditional dishes contain foods not all that common in Britain. With the exception of an irritating stock photo of cranberry sauce served atop mashed potatoes (which is just plain wrong), the food greatly impresses newcomers to the US. I should know, because many years there's someone at my table eating their first American Thanksgiving dinner. If someone ever tells you the US doesn't have a native cuisine, invite them to enjoy turkey, cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and their choice of pecan or pumpkin pie.
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