Thanksgiving is an American holiday where families come together to celebrate the coming of fall and a good harvest. It’s widely acknowledged that the “first Thanksgiving” was in 1621, when colonists and the Wampanoag Natives shared a harvest feast. They celebrated the coming of fall and came together to thank the Native Americans for their knowledge of growing crops. However, it was only in 1863 that President Abraham Licoln designated Thanksgiving to be a national holiday on the last Thursday of November. This year, Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday, November 28th.
During Thanksgiving, families have many different traditions as to how they celebrate it. Some families invite other family and friends to come together and celebrate the holiday. We conducted an online survey asking our peers how they celebrate Thanksgiving, and in all 58 people answered the form. We found that 68% always celebrate Thanksgiving, 25% sometimes celebrate Thanksgiving, and 5.2% do not celebrate it.
Shanna Deng, a seventh grade student at Robert Frost Middle School, gets together with family to eat Thanksgiving dinner every year.
“Usually I have dinner with the whole family, eating chicken, steak, or quail with mashed potatoes, salad, etc. We usually don’t have cranberry sauce, turkey, gravy, pumpkin pie, etc. Sometimes we go over to my cousins’ house to eat Thanksgiving dinner and sometimes people come over to our house to eat. What is the same thing every year is the idea of eating a feast and not going to school!” says Qwyen Le, a sixth grade student at Cabin John Middle School.
For most people, as soon as someone says Thanksgiving, what first comes to mind is eating turkey. However, it’s unlikely that the Pilgrims ate these foods during the “first” Thanksgiving. If so, then why are these foods so symbolic for Thanksgiving? The reason turkey has become a Thanksgiving staple food is in part because of William Bradford, a colonist from Plymouth. Bradford mentioned how in the fall of 1621, the colonists had hunted turkey for meals, and since turkey is a bird native to North America, it became a vital part of Thanksgiving.
Many people celebrate Thanksgiving in different ways, but a lot get together with family and friends, eat special foods, and have a good time. Thanksgiving is a cheerful holiday that is part of the winter holiday rush, and most importantly, allows family members to come together and enjoy a delicious feast.
Article by Emily Liu and Catherine Yang of Eastern Middle School
Graphic by Nicole Fang of Richard Montgomery High School