A Maspeth living room is transformed into a Thanksgiving dining room that can seat visiting family. Tribune photo By Brian M. Rafferty

Queens is known across the world as being the place where cultures come together to work and live side-by-side, where new immigrants take their spots next to the second and third-generations Americans to have a better life than the ones they were living in their countries of origin.

Immigrants bring with them customs that become a vibrant part of the borough's landscape - a key part to the borough's traditions.

In these pages you'll find out how the customs of our newest residents are incorporated into our ever-evolving traditions - as well as what they keep, what they lose and what they change to fit their new environment.

After all, our traditions in Queens are ones of assimilation, of education and of evolution. We come together to become something stronger than the sum of our parts, to write our own history and to establish our own traditions.

Turn the page and take a glimpse at how our traditions continue to evolve.