Holiday Traditions We Built From Scratch

As a child, our schools did a good job whitewashing the true origins of the holiday we call Thanksgiving.
They made it seem like it was a big Kumbaya moment between Native Americans and the European colonizers who came to take advantage of their farming knowledge and survival skills—only to later steal, exploit, and kill those very same people. It’s a dark history that gets swept under the rug in the name of a day off and fall décor.

But for Black people—who also know a thing or two about being exploited by the descendants of those first Europeans—we’ve worked to establish our own holiday traditions. We cook our traditional food—recipes that survived the Middle Passage and were adapted to reflect our new realities in the Americas. More than a few Black families use the day to collectively express our gratitude for the past year and reflect on what’s to come. We play games, talk trash, watch football, and the health-conscious among us might take a walk to burn some of the excess calories we just consumed.

If you’re looking to establish even more holiday traditions with your family and children that don’t focus on the original, horrific history, here are some ideas:

Honor Indigenous People

Instead of completely ignoring the Native Americans who suffered and died in the name of this holiday, use the season to educate your little ones and older family members about Native history. Do some research about the tribes who lived/live where you currently do. If the population is still there, patronize their businesses. Rent books from the library that reflect the true history of the founding of this country. If there’s a Native American museum near your home, take your children so they can explore. As the powers that be seek to erase history, it’s important that our children remain informed.

Preparing Different Types of Foods

Half of my family is Jamaican, so there were years when we ditched the traditional American soul food recipes for rice and peas, plantain, and escovitch. Now, as an adult with my own family—and as someone who only steps in the kitchen to clean—my family has started incorporating dishes from other nationalities into our Thanksgiving menu. We love Senegalese food. As our family grows, I hope to try more cuisines and eventually have a meal of all of our favorites from around the world.

Cookie Swap

One Christmas, my aunts, uncles, and cousins all convened at our house after dinner for dessert. It was my aunt’s idea to have a cookie swap. Each family or household came with a different flavor. We spent the night hopped up on sugar, laughing, dancing, and enjoying each other’s company. Now that I’m an adult, I don’t remember every Christmas I’ve celebrated—but the years we did something fun and different always stand out.

Kwanzaa

Growing up, my peers used to try and clown Kwanzaa, calling it “a made-up holiday”—as if every holiday wasn’t also made up at one point or another. Kwanzaa celebrates principles that have shaped African and African American identities for centuries, like purpose, cooperative economics, faith, creativity, and unity. The slower pace of the winter season is the perfect time to reflect on the ideals that make us who we are. Kwanzaa is still such a new idea that you and your family have the opportunity to make it uniquely your own.