Thanksgiving in the heartland is a huge tradition steeped in years of history.

The Amish celebrate the holiday much like the Pilgrims did hundreds of years ago, according to Atlee Miller, a tour guide at the Amish Mennonite Information Center.

Extended family members come from all over to participate in a day filled with singing, visiting and good food.

But it is also a day filled with rich traditions.

One of the traditions which the Amish have kept from early Pilgrim Thanksgiving celebrations is to fast before dinner.

The fasting starts right after supper the night before Thanksgiving and continues until dinner is served around noon, Atlee Miller said.

Members of the church, usually children who are 15-years old or older, have to fast. Younger children do not have to fast, but can if they choose to.

"We abstain from eating because the pilgrims in the early times did the same thing," Atlee Miller said. "They were thankful to God for the provisions he provided for them, so they fast."

During the early part of the day, the woman of the family are busy taking those provisions and turning them into a generous meal, Atlee Miller said.

Turkey, noodles, sweet potatoes or yams and pie are some of the foods the Amish enjoy during their Thanksgiving dinner.

"Usually what happens if we have a family gathering is each party brings something along for dinner," Atlee Miller said. "The mother and the girls will be working together to prepare the meal. And of course the younger children want to be involved too, and they start to learn how to prepare the food."

After dinner, the families usually gather together to sing songs of praise.

A popular song to sing on Thanksgiving day is a hymn which is sung during church services. The only difference, Atlee Miller said, is during Thanksgiving day the tune is a little faster and more upbeat.

"Then we have a few German Thanksgiving songs also which we like to sing and then we have a few in English too," Atlee Miller said. "Our young people especially are constantly learning new songs which is something they want the whole family to learn."

Singing songs leads to visiting, an art with Altee Miller said has been lost amidst the hustle and bustle of life.

"I tell people that I meet here that visiting is a lost art anymore, people just don't have time to sit down and just visit, and that is something we like to do yet," Atlee Miller said. "We need to know what the extended cousins are doing and catch up with family and friends. When I was young at home in the evening we used to do the chores and walk across the field over to the neighbors and they knew what we wanted, just to chat."

Atlee Miller said today when a person goes down to their neighbors, they want to know what the other person wants. He said there is not enough sitting down and visiting, people are just too busy.

Thanksgiving in the heartland is all about thanking God for what he has provided, family and friends. It is about taking time out to connect to what really matters in life, each other.

Reporter Christy Johnson can be reached at 330-287-1638 or cjohnson@the-daily-record.com.