Last year, I counted 32 Facebook friend status updates that said “Happy Turkey Day” on Thanksgiving. Ugh.

A full vegan holiday spread with a tofurkey at its center. Image | theodamus.wordpress.com

In the way that fir trees in living rooms have become synonymous with Christmas, and tiny toga-adorned men with wings seem to come to mind for Valentine’s Day, I think we’re missing the point of yet another holiday. Don’t get me wrong, tradition can be a wonderful thing, but not when it outshines the original meaning, or when it comes at the expense of other living creatures.

This year, I beg you…slowly put down the drumstick…and walk away.

Turkeys are smart, sensitive, and inquisitive animals that truly have their own distinct personalities. Did you know that they even chirp and cluck along with music? The only reason people eat them in droves for Thanksgiving is merely out of tradition–probably a tradition you’ve never even questioned, am I right? In fact, turkey wasn’t even served at the first Thanksgiving in 1565.

Image | Kristie Gianopulos

Factory farms and slaughterhouses should have no place near a holiday that’s meant to encompass peace and gratitude. If you had witnessed the sickening manner in which the turkey was forced to live and die, your cart would swing right past that aisle when doing your holiday feast shopping.

Let’s nix cruelty this year and make the holiday season about family, friends, and giving thanks. And don’t worry, you can still have one serious heck of a meal. Click here for some recipes that will satisfy every palate, without harming any animals.

My personal Thanksgiving tradition is a little different than most. Although my parents live in Michigan now, they were born and raised in south Louisiana, and my mom, while not vegan herself, is the best vegan Cajun chef on this side of the Mississip. Over the years, she’s been creative in adapting her original recipes into vegan versions and we tear it up on Thanksgiving. Vegan versions of rice dressing, gumbo, green bean casserole, and cornbread dressing adorn our festive autumn inspired chinaware on this special November holiday. We’ve created our own tradition, which feels so much more meaningful than blindly following everyone else, and I encourage you to do the same!

Just as Easter should be, for Christians, more about Jesus than about wicker baskets lined with plastic pastel grass… Thanksgiving should be more about being grateful and surrounding ourselves with those we love instead of eating the mascot. I mean, you don’t see me chowing down on cherubs in February, so let’s leave the turkeys in peace this year, too.