In a completely different context, you may hear an occasional “pardon me” after your Thanksgiving guests have finished joyfully stuffing their bellies with all the delicious foods you’ve offered.

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday with families and friends gathering to celebrate, including folks from other countries.

Jyoti Sachdeva is from India and moved to Franklin in 2014, where she now lives with her husband and two sons.

“Since we don’t have any family here, we were looking to make a family away from family,” she explains.  “We call it USA Family. I met my colleague, who I call my family friend, Monica in 2008. Our first Thanksgiving was at Monica’s house in 2014. She has been celebrating Thanksgiving for many years. We Indian families are all first generation, and we try to adapt to the culture of America so our kids don’t feel they are different, and they also can talk in school the same way as American kids do.”

“Slowly in years it became a tradition,” she continues. “We celebrate Thanksgiving at Monica’s house, Christmas at Roopa’s house and one Indian festival Diwali at our house. Diwali is like Christmas for Indians.”

For Jamie Hellen, Franklin’s CEO/Town Administrator, “Thanksgiving is a great time to pause and reflect on the past year and what is ahead.  Personally, it is always a weekend where I feel grateful to call Massachusetts home. We are very fortunate to live in such a great place that is relatively very safe, have the best public education system in the world, and have an outstanding quality of life. Given what is going on around the world, we are all very fortunate to call Massachusetts home.”

How does your family celebrate?  Hellen answers, “Family, Food, Football.  Also, I would be remiss if I did not mention the Franklin Football game at 10 a.m. on Thanksgiving against arch-rival King Philip. The FFT is having a great season, and we hope this is a big day for Franklin Football!” 

For those looking to “trot” first thing Thanksgiving morning, there are professionally organized “runs” nearby. The 13th Annual Franklin Turkey Trot starts at 8 a.m.; 5K long (more at franklinfoodpantry.org). Closer to Boston, the 12th Annual Franklin Park Turkey Trot starts at 9 a.m.; 5K long (more at franklinparkcoalition.org). Both donate to local charities.

If you prefer sitting on the couch in front of the TV, check out Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade; some movies you might like include The Sound of Music, The Joy Luck Club, and Fantastic Mr. Fox.  Oh, and remember all those football games.

“We have hosted Thanksgiving at our home in Franklin for the past 20 years for about 12-15 of our family who all live in Massachusetts,” says town resident Laura French Jumes.  “Even though we have Greeks and Hungarians as part of the family, we love to make a traditional turkey dinner with all the fixings right down to the pumpkin and apple pie.  Growing up, the kids never loved turkey much and would (and still do even now that they are grown) feast on my scrumptious pumpkin bread made from scratch.”  

She adds, “Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday in our house, and we are thankful to have a home where family can come and share it with us! We are especially thankful for our health and having our now grown sons come home to spend time with us.”

If you’d like to dine out, there are nearby restaurants to choose from, all open on Thanksgiving Day.  Here are five: Coachmen’s Lodge in Bellingham, 3 Restaurant in Franklin, Luciano’s Restaurant in Foxboro, Lake Pearl Wrentham, and The Curry House in Franklin.

“You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out.” -- Jay Leno