Moving to Indonesia we learned the value of traditions, and it was Thanksgiving in Jakarta that taught us this valuable lesson.

Traditions are very meaningful, and an essential part of how we as humans connect.

A tradition begins the moment an act becomes infused with meaning — and is done with intention to remember or reconnect.

When our young family moved to Jakarta for work, while we were excited about the adventure we were about to go on, we did not expect the depth of homesickness we would experience, and the lessons that would come from this.

Our first ever Thanksgiving away from home, was when I realized I had no idea how much I depended on my mother and community to create the "traditions" for us; and that we took for granted how much it was expected in our life to have a home to go to for Thanksgiving, until there was very few people around us who actually celebrated it. Then one day my Son who was 3, turned to me and asked me to create a Thanksgiving experience for them and the community around us. This was when I realized that it was up to me to continue the traditions, no matter where we were, and that they were the best when we evolved them to include new traditions that brought people around us into the celebration with us. Espcially Thanksgiving, as this was how the tradition actually started. Building a Community through the sharing of food.

So I created some of my best dishes in our Fusion Thanksgiving Meals such as Lemongrass Stuffing, Chai Spiced Cranberry Sauce, Tamarind Infused Roasted Vegetables, and Indonesian spiced gravy.

Since this holiday coincided with a long weekend, we made it an open house to feed those in our network who were by themselves and made it a day where we fed the lonely and those who were missing home. As a result, even after leaving Indonesia we have made these our permanent traditions, and have used this to evolve all our others.

At their core, traditions are repeated acts or rituals that carry meaning, connection, and identity.

So the question is have you added your own flavor to the tradition of Thanksgiving in your family.