Homes are warmed, grocery stores raided, pantries are stocked, and invites are sent out in preparation for the 205th Thanksgiving!
“I think [Thanksgiving] is what it’s meant to be, just a day to sit there and be grateful for the people that you have in your life and the people you have had in your life,” remarks DP math teacher Mr. Barnes.
What first began as a monumental event has now become a comforting tradition bringing family together for food, laughs, and good times! Today, Americans and Canadians aren’t the only ones celebrating the fall season, other countries such as Japan, Germany, and Norfolk Island have their own fall festival. Our diverse school provides an opportunity to learn about families’ unique traditions and special takes on Thanksgiving.
Junior, Soha Norani, shared in an interview that her family enjoys a mix of “…American and Indian foods [such as] turkey, stuffing, biryani, and lamb chops.”
Some traditions are sacred, continued every year no matter the amount of work that comes with it. When asked about a unique tradition for his family, Barnes noted “There was a place that my mom used to go to [for] … all the goodies, a place in town that I grew up in, and that even when [his parents] moved away, she would still drive back to Abilene to pick up all the stuff.”
However, Thanksgiving also offers the chance to try new things, open to anyone and everyone. Friends will join together to host their own version of Thanksgiving often referred to as “Friends-giving.” Social media has taken this new adaption of the holiday by storm with creators sharing their extravagant dishes often featuring “boards” with specific themes and categories of food.
Thanksgiving isn’t just about good meals and a grateful spirit over the year it has transformed to incorporate many new American traditions. For avid outdoor lovers, the Turkey Trot is where they find their love for the holiday. Races are held nationwide, typically a 3 or 5k, individuals and even families, will come to share this unique, yet sometimes painful, bonding experience.
In New York, people gather together to watch the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade: an extravagant train of floats, music, and dances that are broadcast live across the country! We don’t watch the parade,” said Noorani, however, she shared her hope that in the future her family would make this into a new tradition as she believes it would be a fun addition to the holiday.
And of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without an American sport. Football fans crowd around their loved ones and the TV, cheering on their team or in some cases, like DP English teacher Mr. Baker; “I rarely get to watch as much of the football game as I would like because I am usually the one helping my mom or sister in the kitchen… and because I carry a curse [that] if I watch the game my team loses.”
Thanksgiving offers the chance to create good memories and connect with new as well as old friends. Best of all, no matter how you choose to celebrate you can’t go wrong!
