Page 109 - A Literary Holiday Cookbook

W hile the focus of Christmas seems to always be on

presents, the cornerstone of Thanksgiving is the notion
of hospitality. This idea of offering aid to family, friends,

and even strangers, and welcoming them into the home plays a

vital role in many classic literary works. In the Little House series
by Laura Ingalls Wilder, holidays like Thanksgiving are a vital

time for pioneers and homesteaders to build new community ties

to replace the neighbors and family they have left behind. Even
books set in mythical lands that do not explicitly feature

Thanksgiving portray key scenes where characters open up their
homes and their larders in an act of hospitality. Think of Beorn in

The Hobbit and the beasts of Redwall Abbey in the Redwall

books.

So, bake up a loaf of Beorn’s Honey Nut Banana Bread or
Redwall Abbey’s Deeper ’N Ever Pie and throw open the front

door! After all, the gift of feeling welcome knows no season.