Thanksgiving is a family holiday that lends itself to family traditions. There are many special ways to celebrate, like watching the Thanksgiving Day parade, participating in a Turkey Trot or having a family recipe that is made every year. The best part of all of this is getting to spend time with loved ones, especially those you may not get to see often.
Festivities on this occasion are usually passed down from previous generations or new traditions are made, most of which are personal to each family, which is what makes them truly special.
“On Thanksgiving, we make a lot of food. We have my family over as well [and] a lot of friends,” said Spanish teacher Kathryn Blanchard. “One special thing that [we do], it’s a recent tradition, but my daughters make a game for everyone to play after dinner. There’s like a challenge related to each person and then that person becomes the judge for the challenge.”
Another big tradition for many families is to watch football on Thanksgiving. There is always a game on TV and since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, it only makes sense that football is a big deal.
“I usually go over to my grandparents’ house and a lot of my [family] will come and we’ll make Thanksgiving dinner and watch football,” Junior Katie Moorhead says. “We’ll always go on a hike, usually in the middle of the day, right before [dinner]. We usually schedule the time we eat right in between football games so we can watch all of the football games.”
Although many traditions share similarities, each one is unique in its own way, which really embodies Thanksgiving as a holiday.
