One of the things that makes the Farmers’ Almanac so special is our focus on preserving the traditions – whether family traditions, agricultural traditions, or otherwise – with which so many digital age folk long to reconnect. At no time of the year is the role of tradition more valued than during the holidays.

To celebrate the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, we asked our colleagues and friends at the Farmers’ Almanac and Farmers’ Almanac TV to share some of their favorite traditions.

One of the most common Thanksgiving rituals – besides eating turkey and watching football – is for families to share things they’ve been thankful for over the past year.

“At our house, everyone has to say at least one thing they are thankful for before we eat. We always make a toast prior to eating and we incorporate what we are thankful for into the toast,” said one Farmers’ Almanac staffer.

Here’s an interesting twist on that same theme:

Before we sit down to eat dinner everyone writes down one thing they are thankful for on a piece of paper. No one signs their names, and the pieces of paper are put into a bowl. At the end of the meal, before dessert, we pass the bowl around and we each pick one to read aloud. Some of them, especially from the kids, can be quite funny: like, “I am thankful that I am not sitting next to Aunt Lynne this year.” But most of them are very good: like “I am thankful that my mom’s cancer was not malignant and that she will be here for many more years.” This is really is fun to do, and it gives us a much-needed breather before dessert.

So many of our holiday traditions revolve around food, but what’s commonplace in some families, may seem strange to outsiders:

We bring our bread to church to be blessed at the annual Thanksgiving service. My kids always hope we’ll come home with someone else’s prize baking efforts, but it never happens, because we bring Pop’n Fresh rolls in a tube!

We have a traditional food item that is a must have at our Thanksgiving family gatherings that goes back several generations. There’s no bread or rice stuffing for us; we eat pork stuffing. This tradition was passed down from our French Canadian great-grandparents, and is a must-have every year. In fact, we like it as much if not more than the turkey itself!

Every Thanksgiving, when our family gets together, my mom cooks the turkey, and my sisters and I each bring a dish or two to share. Back when I was a bachelor, I wasn’t much of a cook, so I usually stopped at the local Chinese restaurant – the only restaurant open in our small town on Thanksgiving day – and picked up a few orders of lo mein. To this day, at our Thanksgiving dinner, we have the traditional turkey, my sisters’ cranberries, rolls, yams and stuffing, and my lo mein.

My spouse and I are both long-time vegetarians, so there’s no turkey at our Thanksgiving table. Together, we’ve created our own holiday traditions, one of which is heading to the natural foods store each November to pick up a frozen Tofurkey roast. While not every vegetarian feels the need to indulge in “fake meat” products, for two comfort-food loving children of blue-collar parents, this ridiculously named, but delicious, soy-based turkey substitute is a godsend.

And here are some worthwhile traditions you might consider adopting:

A friend of mine run/walks in an annual turkey trot every Thanksgiving morning, not only helping to raise funds for a good cause, but also shedding some calories before packing them in again.

Come up with a scavenger hunt on family history for the kids if you’re going to be with a lot of family For example; Which family members attended a particular high school? Whose middle name is Alexander? Who served in the Navy? Who is allergic to strawberries? Not only does this activity add a sense of fun, it also encourages the younger generation to learn a little more about their elders.

What are some of your favorite holiday traditions? Does your family do anything unusual to celebrate. Tell us all about it in our online forums.

Thanksgiving traditions, Farmers’ Almanac