Holiday happiness, as they say, is contagious. But a chamoy-filled Thanksgiving is on a whole other level!
Somewhere between making small talk and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV, comes the moment when we sit down with our family and enjoy a wholesome feast. Depending on where your family is from, you get to munch on turkey and mashed potatoes, or turkey enchiladas and a green chili casserole.
Even though we love a good traditional dinner, at Sophia’s Spicy Treats we’ve always liked to think outside the box and come up with ways to add a spicy twist to our holiday gatherings. Read on to find out why adding chamoy candy classics to your Thanksgiving Day dinner menu will make your evening a lot more special.
What Is Thanksgiving And Why Do We Celebrate It?
Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated yearly on the fourth Thursday in November across the United States.
The day honors the early English Plymouth settlers, or Pilgrims, and Native American Indians from the Wampanoag tribe who came together in a harvest feast in 1621.
Also known as the First Thanksgiving, the feast lasted three days marking the first harvest in the New World after a harsh winter killed half of the Plymouth settlers.
But, as history goes, the alliance between the Natives and the English didn’t last very long, resulting in genocide and conquest of Native Americans by colonists.
Today, Thanksgiving Day has come to symbolize intercultural diversity and elevate the values of home and family.
Thanksgiving celebrations revolve around family and friends gathering together to enjoy a big dinner made up of traditional ingredients of Indigenous cuisine: turkey, bread stuffing, corn, cranberries, potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
What Are Thanksgiving Traditions?
Besides enjoying a delicious meal followed by pumpkin pie and other fall desserts, Americans during Thanksgiving partake on traditional events and activities.
For instance, Thanksgiving is considered a family-centered holiday but Friendsgiving is a newer tradition exclusively saved for close friends. At dinner, all guests share what they’re most thankful for. Hearing everyone talk about their favorite moments and experiences from the previous year creates a stronger bond between people.
Watching TV events is a top-tier Thanksgiving custom in the U.S. There’s nothing more comforting than starting the day watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and ending it with an exciting football game!
Thanksgiving traditions also include charity. Many volunteers take this holiday as the perfect time to give back to their community and help serve warm dinners to the less privileged as a sign of gratitude.
The day after Thanksgiving is commonly known as Black Friday—filled with shopping the biggest deals of the year, which run through the weekend until Cyber Monday—and the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season.
However, this date, also called Native American Heritage Day, pays tribute to Native Americans for their many contributions to the United States. Native American Heritage Day recognizes the first people of this nation, celebrating both their cultural heritage and integral importance to our past, present, and future.
What Other Countries Celebrate Thanksgiving?
The tradition of feasting with family isn’t exclusive to Americans. Besides the U.S., other countries and regions around the world gather together in November in celebration of Thanksgiving:
1. Canada
Our northern neighbors observe their own version of Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.
Canadian Thanksgiving is pretty similar to American celebrations, centered around family and friends gathering together to enjoy a dinner that includes turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, and desserts made of pecans, walnuts, and raisins.
2. Liberia
Liberian Thanksgiving marks when freed American slaves founded the country in 1822. In Liberia, Thanksgiving takes place on the first Thursday of November.
This day is considered to be a day of rest and relaxation, usually revolving around a church service followed by a family meal that features regional staples such as rice, yams, and collard greens.
3. South India
Pongal is a four-day Hindu harvest festival held in January celebrated by the Tamil community. While there are different versions of harvest festivals celebrated all over India, Pongal is a festival in which people show gratitude to the Sun, Mother Nature and the various farm animals that help to contribute to a bountiful harvest.
Pongal, which translates as “overflowing” is also the name of the traditional dish made with milk, ghee, and rice, which Tamils regard as a symbol of prosperity, abundance, and affluence.
4. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
Held in late September or early October, Erntedankfest is a harvest Thanksgiving festival observed by religious and rural communities across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Festival goers give thanks for plentiful harvests with church services, parades, and music, plus a presentation of a harvest crown to a Harvest Queen.
5. Brazil
Thanksgiving in Brazil is called Dia de Ação de Graças. The celebration originated in the 1940s when the Brazilian ambassador to the United States suggested Brazilians enjoy a day of eating delicious food like Americans.
During Dia de Ação de Graças, Brazilians parade down the street and celebrate with big carnivals after church services. The major festival thanks God for all the good things in life.
Do Mexicans Celebrate Thanksgiving?
Despite Mexicans traditionally not observing Thanksgiving, you can definitely find restaurants preparing Thanksgiving feasts across the country, with families and friends joining in borrowed American traditions in many places with large expat communities and holidaying tourists.
Thanksgiving, or Día de Acción de Gracias in Spanish, is culturally significant for Mexican and many Latin American communities in the United States.
The day typically centers around a traditional Thanksgiving meal with a special twist, such as turkey, tamales, and mole. Flan, churros, and other Mexican traditional desserts are also served.
Even though Thanksgiving isn’t rooted in Mexican tradition, many Mexicans like expressing their gratitude and reflecting on their blessings in this lively gathering with family and friends.
How Do You Throw A Thanksgiving Dinner Party?
Whether you’re American, Canadian or Mexican, Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to express gratitude for all our blessings in a heartwarming autumnal gathering. If you love to entertain, be around people and make them feel welcome in your house, throwing the ultimate Thanksgiving dinner party might be up your alley.
Here’s how you can make Thanksgiving entertaining with chamoy:
1. Incorporate Chamoy Into Your Thanksgiving Dinner Menu
In order to make your dinner party suitable for Thanksgiving, consider adding a modern twist to your traditional Thanksgiving menu. What are your thoughts on a cranberry sauce infused with hibiscus flower and a zesty touch of chamoy?
For this recipe, swap the orange for a dash of Cointreau; this will enhance the flavor of the cranberries. Add half a cup of dried hibiscus flower to your cranberry-sugar-and-water concoction and bring to a boil until soft and jammy.
While boiling, incorporate a tablespoon of Sophia’s Spicy Treats Chamoy Rim Dip Paste. This will enhance the thick consistency of the cranberry sauce without losing any of its tartness, which will blend beautifully with the turkey.
If you’re feeling adventurous, consider making a chamoy glazed turkey with your favorite Sophia’s Spicy Chamoy Sauce.
2. Chamoy Elevates Thanksgiving Day Candy To A Stratosphere Heights
Traditional Thanksgiving Day candy typically include candy corn—small, pyramid-shaped kernel candies with marshmallow, vanilla, and buttery caramel flavor notes—and candy apples, which are basically caramel or chocolate-covered apples.
These desserts are not only delicious, but they blend well with the cozy vibes that the enchanting, fall season brings. Why not add some chamoy into the mixture?
For instance, you probably haven’t heard, but chocolate and chamoy go together like bread and butter. Consider coating maraschino cherries in Classic Chamoy Sauce before dipping them in melted milk chocolate. Let them harden and enjoy!
If that mix didn’t make your taste buds tingle, chamoy covered apples will certainly do! Grab a handful of El Azteca Mega Flechazos and peel the candy off the straw stick. Combine and knead until soft to easily spread it over an apple.
Finish by covering the tamarind apple in Lucas Baby Chamoy Powder.
3. Make A Chamoy Candy Platter
Watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or browsing the NFL Thanksgiving schedule without snacks is a holiday sin.
Fret not, Sophia’s Chamoy Candy Platter is here to save the day. Completely customizable, our chamoy candy platter is filled with five of your favorite chamoy candy, including gummies, gushers, Skittles, and manguitos.
Choose from a wide variety of flavors and spice levels too: classic, spicy, watermelon, mango, sour pickle and apricot.
How will you celebrate Thanksgiving this year? Tell us in the comments below.
And from everyone at Sophia’s Spicy Treats, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! We’re so grateful for the continued support of our loyal community.
