Another (US, yes, other cultures feel free to substitute your own here) Thanksgiving. I don’t really enjoy turkey, I have food issues anyway, feasting is very conflicted.
Then, there is the enforced extended family togetherness, the clueless rightwing folks carrying on vs the suffering vegans. Everyone expected to be happy. This is almost beyond cliché, but it’s real, happens every year.
I’m really sorry this is the experience you are having. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve had more choice in who I spend thanksgiving with and what I eat - so hopefully you get that flexibility soon. One year I went to Mexico, which was a great way to opt out of local festivities. This year we have a couple of people with celiac attending, so we are eating nontraditional food. Also, turkey is objectively gross.
Edit: Some years I host so I can get shit faced without worrying about driving (in retrospect , I am probably “that” relative) - another great way to make the holidays tolerable.
Don’t get me wrong: this is endurable, I get along with most of these people OK, individually or in smaller groups. I also don’t want to end up like my other uncle, who is far away, old and essentially alone; I am the only person who talks to him on a regular basis.
So it’s a tradeoff. You can also be amused by everyone else running away from the rightwing uncle, him chasing them around still blathering. The vegans are actually pretty cool.
Compare all this with summer holidays,. Independence Day is big here. Burgers and beer, outside, play sports with the kids, go to the parade and watch the fireworks. No passive agressive matrons checking the guest list.