Giving Thanks for Being Czech

I've recently been looking through Sean N. Gallup's wonderful book Journeys into Czech-Moravian Texas (Texas A&M University Press, 1998) at the same time I've been looking through photos I took of my mom's last months. She passed away in January of this year. On page 83 of the book, Gallup has a poignant photo of small boy only a few years younger than my youngest son (at left). In the text under the photo, Gallup wrote "Trey [Ging] will likely never learn to speak more than a few words of Czech, and though the culture may remain evident in the values that guide him later in life, one can only wonder if he will retain his sense of connection to a Texas-Czech ethnic and personal identity."

These words were in my head as I looked at photos from my mom's last Thanksgiving dinner. My family and my sister-in-law's family joined at the home of my brother and his wife in Houston. There was absolutely nothing Czech about our meal, I'll say right up front. When it comes to Thanksgiving, my father's favorite holiday, we eat as traditionally American as any other family. My brother cooked both roast and fried turkeys (and even fried an extra so that everyone had leftovers to take home) and provided most of the adult libations. The rest of us divided up the appetizers, sides, and desserts among us to bring potluck style.

I thought about trying to force some Czech-style cooking method or ingredients onto a traditional Thanksgiving dish for the purpose of being able to write about it for this blog, but decided against it. I ended up taking corn pudding (or casserole), which did ironically come from the SPJST 100th anniversary cookbook, plus a pear tart from the November 2018 issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine, and the makings of Poinsettia Cocktails, a recipe straight from the internet.

Other family members brought mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls, green salad, roast sweet potatoes, pumpkin tres leches cake, pecan pie, bacon-wrapped figs, crudités arranged to look like a turkey and served with ranch dressing, a cheese tray with almonds, and a vanilla cake.

Though our menu was decidedly American, I did think a lot about the undercurrents of family dynamics, division of labor, and communication among the 28 of us enjoying each other's company that day and how they reflected the values that I associate with Czechs. At a time when immigration, ethnicity, and questions about American values are at the forefront of discussions, I often reflect on my own family's story.

I am the great-granddaughter of immigrants (and great-great-granddaughter and great-great-great-granddaughter.) My earliest ancestor to set foot here in Texas (and they ALL came to Texas on both my mother's and father's side) only came in the 1850s. That's generations later than some of my Mexican-American friends' relatives. My grandmother, who died at 98 only last year, still spoke some Polish learned from her father who's grandfather came to Texas from what is now Poland. I love having direct connections to the relatives that gave up everything known to them at that point to try and make a better life for themselves in America.  It fills me with gratitude to them and for the opportunities they had here. The connections compel me to hope for the same opportunities for anyone brave enough to leave their home country seeking the same things my ancestors sought. I'm lucky enough to be generations away from that heart-breaking journey and hope I never become hardened to the idea that other people have the right to embark on the same journey now.


I think about the intangible things handed down to me from generations of Czech and Polish immigrant ancestors trying to make better lives... not food traditions, or national costumes, or a love of polka music, but ways of being, of seeing the world, ways of prioritizing my responsibilities, and what things are important to me. Of course, things like hard work are not exclusive to any ethnic group, but below are some ways my family carried on its Czech-ness while celebrating being Americans on Thanksgiving.

Multi-generational togetherness - Grandparents, parents, children, siblings, cousins, in-laws, aunts, and uncles all passed around the baby. Grandparents told stories and grandchildren told stories. We settled squabbles and let the older folks make their plates first. Cousins from age 9 to 19 swam in the pool, played board games, and video games.

Love of adult libations - This family trait is certainly not exclusive to Czechs, but Czechs are big drinkers and our family certainly enjoys a glass of wine or scotch or the fantastic brandy my brother poured me late in the day as I played Illimat.

Hard work and cooperation - from rocking to sleep my sister-in-law's sister's baby to ripping all the meat off the turkey carcass so we could make soup broth to washing dishes to filling up what seemed like dozens of "to go" containers with leftovers, we do not shy away from things that need to be done. Some jobs (like rocking babies to sleep) are sweeter than others.

It pleases me to think about my mother surrounded by family and extended family on her last Thanksgiving, enjoying the fruits of the labors and feeling the support and companionship of generations of people who loved her. And knowing the values she was raised with and raised us with are being passed on, whether we identify them as a legacy of our Czech background or not.