By DONNA DeFORBES/ecoRI News
contributor
While the Pilgrims’ Thanksgiving of 1621 was certainly not the
first harvest feast in America — perhaps due to its records and its good story
— it’s recognized as the birth of the American holiday.
The first national Thanksgiving was proclaimed by the Continental
Congress in 1777 as a solemn event. President Lincoln is often credited with
declaring it a national holiday in 1863. However, Thanksgiving didn’t become a
fixed annual event until 1941, when Congress permanently marked it as the
fourth Thursday in November.
At its heart, Thanksgiving is a day of gratitude for food and
family. Here are some ideas for making your celebration a little greener:
DECORATION
Use non-toxic cleaners for your pre-holiday house cleaning.
You’ll find that many products from your kitchen can double as household
cleaners, saving you money and eliminating nasty chemical odors. The best
cleaners don’t use much more than vinegar, baking soda and essential oils for a
disinfecting and pleasant smelling clean.
Set the table with natural fabrics, reusable dinnerware and
dripless beeswax candles. Cloth napkins can be made from scraps of fabric, old
sheets or clothing, and can even be personalized for family members.
Instead of buying plastic centerpieces, make a cornucopia of
nuts, apples and colorful gourds in a natural wicker basket or a seasonal
decoration of leaves, pinecones, acorns and dried herbs. Kids can make place
cards from recycled construction paper or try something unique like writing
guests’ name on collected shells and rocks.
TRAVEL
Thanksgiving is the most traveled weekend of the year. If
you’re leaving town, consider buying carbon offsets, which are a way of
alleviating guilt and supporting carbon-reducing projects. Find out more at
sites like CarbonFund.org or TerraPass.com.
Choose the train or bus before a car or airplane. They create
fewer carbon emissions per passenger, and they’ll keep you away from crowds and
long lines — only about 3 percent of Americans travel by bus or train over
Thanksgiving.
If you do fly, consider the greenness of an airline. Does it
support sustainable food options, recycling or fuel-conservation programs? A
little online research can tell you which airlines are currently ranked as the
most eco-friendly.
FOOD & DRINK
Skip the force-fed, “flavor”-injected Butterball turkey and seek
out local birds or heritage breeds from places such as Heritage Food USA or The
American Livestock Breed Conservancy. Heritage turkeys breed naturally and live
a drug-free outdoor life. Visit localharvest.org to
find a turkey farm near you.
Eat local like the Pilgrims did. Their menu wasn’t centered
around turkey — they also ate readily available swan, duck, goose, deer,
lobster and shellfish — and they had no potatoes, so don’t feel you’re bucking
tradition by choosing something different.
Thanksgiving feasts vary according
to region — people incorporate crab and sauerkraut in Maryland, chiles in New
Mexico, persimmon puddings in Indiana and sweet potatoes in the South.
Keep food waste to a minimum. Do you really need four
different pies? Traditionally, a main dish, four sides and one dessert is a
good rule of thumb for the Thanksgiving meal. Have a plan for leftover food.
If
you can’t stomach turkey leftovers for the next five days, be sure to send some
home with guests. Store leftovers in BPA-free reusable containers rather than
using Saran wrap or aluminum foil.
Compost leftover vegetable and fruit scraps. Egg shells,
coffee grinds and tea leaves can also be composted.
Be energy efficient by cooking multiple dishes in the oven at
the same time. On the stovetop, use the smallest pot necessary for cooking an
item, and cover it to reduce evaporation.
ACTIVITIES
Trade in an hour of television for playing football or some
other sport in the backyard. It’s interactive, connecting and a great way to
work off some of that dinner. Alternatively, attend a local high-school
football game.
Not a fan of football? Go for a neighborhood walk and listen
to the leaves crunch. Take the kids to the playground. Doing something outdoors,
even for a short time.
Board games are great holiday fun. In a large gathering, you
can have several games going at once, and then rotate groups. Make it part of
the holiday tradition by introducing a different game every year. This doesn’t
mean you have to buy it new. I’ve found many a complete game at yard sales and
thrift shops.
Are there several family and friends who live near each
other? Make a progressive party of Thanksgiving instead of leaving one person
with the bulk of the work. A progressive party means guests gather at one house
for the first course and walk from house to house for other courses (and
activities) throughout the evening.
Donna DeForbes is founder of Eco-Mothering.com,
a blog that explores ways to make going green fun and easy for the whole
family. She is a contributor to Earth911, The Green Mama, MammaBaby and author
of the e-book “The
Guilt-Free Guide to Greening Your Holidays.”