There's no right or wrong way to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Every family adds their own personal touches and cultural flare, creating ever-evolving traditions and customs that reflect who they are and where they come from. This is especially true of Latinos.
With this in mind, HuffPost Latino Voices polled our followers on social media by asking “What are some signs you’re at a Latino Thanksgiving?”
Here’s what they had to say:
1. "There is always Latin music on blast all day, from when mommy wakes up at 6 to put the turkey and pernil in the oven until the last person goes home."- Erica D. Collazo
2. "There’s more than enough food and everyone is greeted with a hug, laughter, love, and a least one crazy relative."- Marisa Campas Hughes
3. "You have to go to your neighbors house and buy the pasteles."- Gianni Angel Canino-Rodriguez
4. "You know you are at a #latinothanksgiving when family conversations are largely in Spanglish."- Dawn Marie H-Watson
5. "There’s lots of loud conversations and laughter, but when everyone eats, it’s scary quite."- Jennifer Huertas Badilla
6. "There are more people than chairs."- Valeria Garcia
7. "When your nana yells at you to get out of the kitchen, so you eat nothing but pozole bread until the food’s done."- Mireya Aguilera
8. "You get together in the early afternoon and stay for hours, with enough time to go back for seconds, thirds, and make two rounds of the dessert table."- Bianca Galindo
9. "The driveway is totally blocked by all the cars parked there for your party-slash-dinner." -IsaArias
10. "You're eating at around 8pm."- Gustavo Fontoura
11. "Salsa is playing in the background and you don't have any of the traditional fixings with the turkey but instead have rice and beans and other Latino side dishes."-Luz Infante
12. "When you start off with Peruvian Ceviche first!"- Peter Andrews
13. "When everyone prefers serving tamales over a lame turkey, but y'all still cook a turkey."- Kimberly M. Price
14. "You don't have turkey, you have pernil and there isn't any mashed potatoes, but you have arroz con gandules and potato salad!"- Tiffany Albavera
15. "The turkey is covered in mole."- Diana H Friesenhahn
16. "And the turkey is seasoned with lots of adobo."- American Latino Radio
17. "The turkey is stuffed with mofongo."- Jimmy Reyes
18. "When the stuffing inside of the turkey is made of pork. We call it 'pavochon.'"- Sandra Burgos-Sierra
19. "You put red chile instead of gravy on your mashed potatoes." - Emilio Ralph Gonzales
20. "When they have chuchitos (Guatemalan tamales)."- Ana Escobar Cano
21. “You grub on some panes con chumpe!”- Elizabeth Santos
22. "There's tostones y turrón!"- Blanca Acevedo
23. "You have platanos y crema for appetizers and flan for dessert."- Christian Ucles
24. "And flan de calabaza replaces pumpkin pie!"- Mars Salcie-Gautreaux
25. “People are drinking coquito instead of eggnog.”- Ana Sánchez
26. “There’s ponche caliente.” - Rodrigo De Ávila
27. “You have tamales, pozole, champurrado, and tequila, and all of your primos are with you in the same household for dinner.”- Luis Arroyo
28. “[Someone asks], ‘¿Y tu novio?’”- Katie Piura Gaitan
29. “When your tías ask if you have a girlfriend even after you told them you're gay 4 years ago.”- Julian Bugarín Quezada
30. “You start arguing with your relatives about their problematic views on sex, religion, and race.”- Elizabeth Morales
31. "Playing loteria afterwards!"- Pat Gallegos Thompson
32. "There's inevitably at least one person dancing while holding a full plate of arroz con gandules y pernil. That person's usually me."- Tanisha Ramirez
33. "Taking a plate home for a tio or cousin who doesn't come."- Angela Paula Hernandez
34. “When leftovers turn into turkey tamales, tacos, and tostadas.”- Heriberto Hernandez Jr.
35. “When we all show up to grandmas house the next day for the recalentado.”- Alberto Perez
36. "You make it more about truly giving thanks and you don't care about the historical context. It's just another great excuse to love our families, feel grateful, and be together around delicious food."- Patty Ramirez Pinckney
Responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.
If you like this post, you'll want to check out "How Are You 'Latinoizing' Your Thanksgiving Menu?" below: