Thanksgiving already?

That’s what you might be thinking as you prepare for America’s harvest feast, a tradition that many cultures share, but one that we celebrate well after the harvest is in.

We were discussing Thanksgiving at book club last week. (Since there are many book clubs on the Hill, you might be in one too, and we all know we talk about a lot of things in addition to the book.) We agreed it is one of the better holidays, not requiring any gifts or staying up late. We realized that although we have been friends for decades and share all kinds of values and beliefs, we shared little about Thanksgiving except for the turkey.

S., for example, doesn’t cook and never has. She said her mother never did either. So S. orders everything from Whole Foods. She and her husband both have small families, so they invite friends to join them. S. said she’s not particularly fond of holidays of any kind.

E.’s family, on the other hand, takes Thanksgiving seriously and loves its aromas of sage, thyme, onions, chestnuts and roasting turkey. They cook with butter and cream as the theme. Her fresh turkey gets a blanket of gauze soaked in butter, her mashed potatoes incorporate butter, the butternut squash gets an infusion of brown sugar, cinnamon and butter, her pearl onions get cream, and her pumpkin pie is topped with whipped cream. Everything is home-made and ready by 1 pm.

K. hates sage, so her family never smells that aroma. The tradition in her household is much food and many guests in addition to her large family.

Another S. always celebrates with “hundreds of people” on the Cape. They begin with Cotuit oysters and settle seriously into the dinner by enjoying both mashed potatoes and scalloped potatoes. They top everything off with many kinds of pie, their favorite being one made with cream and apples.

N. is from the south, so her Thanksgiving dinner features Grandma Rose’s deviled baked oysters, with lots of Worcestershire sauce, cornbread dressing, homemade rolls and sweet potato pudding laced with bourbon. She spends Thanksgiving wherever most of her children are, which recently has been in Seattle. With grown children and their spouses and now grandchildren, her family is so large that they no longer invite friends for the whole dinner. This year friends will join them for three or four desserts.

B.’s menu goes back at least 50 years to Aunt Kate in Falmouth.

The table is decorated with a pineapple centerpiece surrounded by fruits, vegetables, nuts and the last of the garden’s flowers as well as some now-ancient paper maché turkeys. They start with shrimp or lobster and move on to the usual things, highlighted by breaded oysters, two kinds of Cape Cod cranberries and Cape Cod turnips.

M. usually travels to New York City where her cousin supplies the usual fare, including what M. calls “orange-colored mystery,” as well as the traditional Jewish holiday foods of brisket and kugel. This year M. is forgoing the New York celebration in order to spend Thanksgiving with her daughter, an aspiring actress in L.A. All she knows so far about this Thanksgiving is that chestnuts and brussel sprouts will be involved.

Our own family gets together with our daughter’s husband’s family in Boston, Cambridge or New Hampshire, and we are always joined by several Asian graduate students. The menu changes radically since we cook when it’s our turn, and they don’t when it is theirs. This year it will all come from a caterer in Newton. When it’s our turn, I plan the menu, featuring a sausage, apple, celery and onion stuffing and Oysters Casino, and get it started. Then I get distracted by all the hub-bub, and our son-in-law Sam has to put it all together. I think of our tandem meal preparation as a metaphor: I handle the lift-off and the flight, and he lands the plane.

Thanksgiving is remarkably quiet on the Hill. It’s hard to know where all the cars have gone, but there are plenty of parking spaces. It marks the beginning of a long winter, so it is melancholy, but also comforting.

Whatever your traditions are for the harvest festival, enjoy them. Happy Thanksgiving.