Kathleen
Cupcake
Many practices are marketing successes. (We can thank Hallmark for several!) However, once they are adopted by a population and are then handed down from generation to generation - especially by word of mouth or practice - the practice becomes a "tradition" by definition. I've not run into this casserole anywhere else besides the USA (thankfully as I don't like most casseroles.) However, it WILL be on the table at Thanksgiving if I visit many a relative.
My mother reminds me yearly that I should have a red carnation (or poppy) pinned on me for Mother's Day and I am sure that she will visit me after she is gone if I do not have a white carnation pinned on me for that day. I suppose that I can thank a war-torn country, Julia Howe, and the florist industry for a life time of flower-wearing on the second Sunday in May. Without one, I shudder to think what may one day land on my plate.
My mother reminds me yearly that I should have a red carnation (or poppy) pinned on me for Mother's Day and I am sure that she will visit me after she is gone if I do not have a white carnation pinned on me for that day. I suppose that I can thank a war-torn country, Julia Howe, and the florist industry for a life time of flower-wearing on the second Sunday in May. Without one, I shudder to think what may one day land on my plate.