Thanksgiving is a huge celebration in my family. Every year, we gather together to tell stories, eat too much food, and share gratitude. Central to our meal is a family heirloom that has been passed down for generations on my father’s side: the Pilgrim Plates. The Pilgrim Plates were a wedding gift from my great-great Uncle Jack to his sister, my great-great Aunt Kate. “Uncle Jack” found the plates while he was living in London, England in the early 20th century. “Uncle Jack” and “Aunt Kate” were my father’s great aunt and uncle, his maternal grandmother’s brother and sister. “Aunt Kate” hosted lavish Thanksgiving dinners every year, serving the meal on the special plates adorned with English country-folk carefully painted in green and red, going about their lives in a bucolic setting. The round plates are painted from edge to edge, detailed with leaves, trees, people, and wagons. 
When “Aunt Kate” died, my grandmother began to host Thanksgiving and continued to serve delicious Thanksgiving dinners on the Pilgrim Plates that had been passed down to her.
Decades later, the plates were passed to my father, an extraordinary chef, who lovingly and skillfully creates the delicious Thanksgiving meal he grew up eating every year. Now, three generations later, we still use the plates every year remembering loved ones, sharing gratitude, and laughing with our bellies full of mashed potatoes!
 

– Ms. S

Relationship:  Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more Great-grandchild of im/migrant or more