4 Florida Thanksgiving Habits That Confuse Visiting Relatives From Up North

Thanksgiving dinner in Florida might move to the patio if the weather’s nice.

Relatives from up north, still in their sweaters, don’t always know what to make of it.

Here are the Florida Thanksgiving habits that confuse visiting relatives from up north.

1. Roast Pork Next to the Turkey

Thanksgiving at some Cuban American homes in Miami puts roast pork on the table beside the turkey.

Axios Miami reports that in one Cuban American family, pork took priority over the turkey at Thanksgiving.

That family treated Thanksgiving as a warm-up for Noche Buena, another pork feast.

It’s a lot of pork.

Your relatives from up north might count that as two main courses.

2. Eating Dinner Outside

Thanksgiving dinner moves onto the patio at some homes when the weather is nice.

A Bay News 9 meteorologist found that Tampa’s Thanksgiving highs averaged 75.7 degrees from 1984 to 2018.

The most common Thanksgiving high in Tampa falls in the 70s, and highs in the 80s turn up on roughly 20 to 30 percent of them.

Through 2018, a high in the 50s happened only once since 1950, in 1984.

From 1950 to 1983, Thanksgiving highs there averaged 75.6 degrees.

That 1984 high was only 56.

Of the decades measured, the 1990s were Tampa’s warmest for Thanksgiving highs, at 78.3 degrees.

Of those decades, the 2000s ran coolest, with an average high of 73.8.

Even that cooler stretch left you room for a patio table.

Sweater optional.

3. Mojo Turkey in a Pig Box

The Thanksgiving turkey takes on the flavors of Cuban roast pork in some Miami kitchens, with mojo and onions.

Some families roast the bird in a caja china, the same box they use for roasting pigs.

It's a pig box.

Your guests will likely have questions, and you'll enjoy answering them.

Your guests will probably want a warning first.

Your table will look stranger than usual to anyone who grew up elsewhere.

In that family's telling, yuca and rice dishes such as arroz congris stood in for cornbread and macaroni and cheese.

If you grew up with sides like that, you probably wouldn't think twice about them, but your guests might.

4. Rivalry Football on Friday

Some households have a Gators fan and a Seminoles fan at the same table.

You pick a side.

The Gators play at Florida State in Tallahassee on Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.

The Official State Pie

Florida lawmakers made Key lime pie the official state pie in 2006, so it has a claim to a spot beside the pumpkin on your Thanksgiving table.

The law took effect on July 1 of that year.

It's official.

Stone Crab Season

Thanksgiving falls inside stone crab season, which runs from Oct. 15 to May 1 in state waters.

Some hosts set a platter of claws next to the turkey.

Order your claws early.

Sand After Dinner

When the plates are cleared, some families head for the beach instead of the couch.

Florida has 825 miles of sandy coastline, so a short drive puts you at the water from many towns.

Dessert can wait.

Florida's Wild Turkey

Florida has two subspecies of wild turkey, the eastern and the Osceola, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The Osceola turkey's white wing bars are narrower than its black bars and look broken, which gives its wings a darker look.

It lives only in peninsular Florida, and farther north it interbreeds with the eastern subspecies.

It's found nowhere else.

Your guests will want a photo of that wing.

If you ever spot one, you can tell the two subspecies apart by the wings.

How Thanksgiving Got Its Date

Thanksgiving lands on Nov. 26 this year because Congress fixed the holiday on the fourth Thursday of November in 1941.

President Franklin Roosevelt signed that bill on Dec. 26, 1941.

Your relatives probably haven't thought about that.

Blame Congress.

Your relatives from up north will enjoy the history lesson.

The Last Days of Hurricane Season

Atlantic hurricane season ends four days after Thanksgiving this year.

The National Hurricane Center lists hurricane season as June 1 to Nov. 30.

That season peaks in late summer and fall, so you're near the tail end by Thanksgiving week.

Four days isn't much.

St. Augustine's 1565 Feast

Thanksgiving in Florida goes back at least to what some call the first Thanksgiving, when Pedro Menéndez de Avilés came ashore at St. Augustine on Sept. 8, 1565.

A Catholic Mass of thanksgiving followed, led by Father Francisco Lopez, and the Timucua joined the newcomers for a communal meal at his invitation.

Plymouth comes up at some tables, and now you can reply.

Plymouth came later.