After having my Thanksgiving dinner, it got me thinking, what is better, a Thanksgiving dinner or a Passover seder? First of all, I think both are great in the way that they remember the past and have a tradition that persists for many, many years. Personally, the most important part of both of these dinners is probably the family, as both days are great times to get together with everyone. That is pretty much where the similarities end. 

One main difference is the length. Even though a Thanksgiving dinner takes hours of preparation, it is still only a dinner and usually only lasts for an hour or two. On the other hand, a Passover seder could go on for hours and hours, depending on the family.  Although most of the time for the seder is spent saying prayers and remembering the history of Passover, many people, especially kids, don’t like this part. I do enjoy this part of the seder, but by the end, I am always starving and just want to be done so that I can eat. So overall, Thanksgiving wins this category for me.

Now to the food itself. I would have to give the seder a point for uniqueness in the food. What other days, other than Passover, are you eating matzah,  maror, and charoset? I know eating turkey is most popular on Thanksgiving, but you can still eat it on other days. I think the fact that we only eat these seder foods during Passover makes it even more special.

For the comparison of the foods, we will start with the main courses, brisket and turkey. I think the winner is easily brisket. Turkey is simply not very good, and that is the reason we only eat it 1 day a year, and chicken is far more popular. For the sides, I would have to give the edge to Thanksgiving.  Although some seder sides are good, such as soup or charoset, things like gefilte fish and maror come nowhere close to mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and roasted vegetables. I would also have to give Thanksgiving the edge for dessert with all of the pies. For Passover, there is only so much you can do without bread, and my family usually has a mediocre matzah chocolate cake. 

One area where the seder wins is in identity and originality. While most people will just look up recipes for Thanksgiving, I feel like a Passover seder is filled with family tradition, and the recipe for the brisket that your grandma makes has been passed down through many generations.

Overall, I would have to give the edge to the Passover seder. It ends up being 2 days instead of 1, and I feel more of a sense of comfort in this holiday. They both have their own positives and negatives, and I could understand if you liked Thanksgiving more due to the super long seder and the lack of food options due to not being allowed to have bread.