Thanksgiving is the best holiday. It holds its moorings against the tide of year-round commercial tsunamis, where drugstore Halloween sales debark in the wake of Labor Day specials and stale candy corn stares at Santa Claus from the bargain bin. Thanksgiving is a time to gather and celebrate seasonal bounty with food as the centerpiece and spokes of family and friends—none excluded by race, religion, or sports affiliation—equally able to pause and be thankful.

As the holiday winds its way across the United States, the course changes regionally and traditions vary, rightfully reflecting who we are, where we are, and what we come from. Tofurky (soy mock turkey) has yet to eclipse the feathered bird, but almost everything else is up for grabs. In the South we show our colors with cornbread dressing and rice stuffing; in California, a spinach salad with olives, blood orange, caramelized almonds, and avocado complements the meal. In Vermont, we may deglaze with fresh cider, make apple stuffing, or serve a salad of roasted beets, blue cheese, and maple syrup. At the heart of tradition is the use of what is at hand, for memories are strongest when tied to places.

Oma’s house was our place. We’d race from the car to her door, entering the aroma envelope of roasting turkey, dressing with herbs and celery, and steaming boiled potatoes. Her large clawfoot table was always expanded to accommodate all auxiliary leaves, then covered with a pressed linen tablecloth and set with silver cutlery, wedding china, and crystal glassware.

Moving deeper into the house, we glimpsed her pies. Our traditional favorites—pumpkin, pecan, mincemeat, and molasses—and the newcomer, a mile-high strawberry pie sitting in the icebox until service. I hope that if I cannot take my children to Thanksgiving at Oma’s, then perhaps I am, in my own way, giving them some experience worthy of nostalgia, some winged wedge of memory to which they may return someday in the same way I do when seated and ready to bite the point of a pie slice or enjoy a soft roll.