Things I am thankful for: family, friends, turkey, and traditions.
Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the United States, with its origins dating back to 1621. Celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving is the one day of the year when we are supposed to truly sit back and value all that we have in our lives.
For most people, Thanksgiving is a family holiday spent with relatives from near and far, and an opportunity to be extra grateful for all that we have. Whether this holiday means going out to a restaurant with some cousins, watching a football game, going to a parade, or having a homemade turkey, almost everybody has some sort of annual Thanksgiving tradition.
This holiday allows for people to appreciate how fortunate they are, soak in the presence of their friends and family, and kick off the holiday season with a bang: filled with food and loved ones.
“Most Thanksgivings, I go to my grandparents’ house and watch football with my family,” said junior Ryan Delmonte.
Every year, hundreds of Port Washington citizens participate in our town’s very own, Thanksgiving Day run. This event, known as the Turkey Trot is a very common tradition for many local families.
“I run the Turkey Trot every year with a few of my friends. It’s really fun and kind of breaks up the day. Afterwards, my family and I drive to my grandma’s house and spend the rest of the day with all of my cousins,” said junior Bari Cohen.
While some Schreiber students stay local for the holiday, others choose to travel in order to reunite with family.
“For Thanksgiving, my family and I celebrate with my cousins in Chicago,” said sophomore Amanda Glassman. “When my grandma was alive, Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday, so it is still very important to everyone in my family. We always eat pecan pie, in honor of her, because she used to make her own special and delicious recipe for us.”
In my case, by the time Thanksgiving rolls around, my grandparents are in Florida for the season, so my family and I celebrate with them a couple of weeks before the holiday during what we like to call “Tanenbaum Thanksgiving.”
All of my aunts, uncles, cousins and second cousins on my dad’s side of the family gather at our local country club and dine together: all while catching up on news from the past year. It’s so nice being able to spend a day with relatives I don’t always get to see, and really being able to value the company of my family.
On the actual Thanksgiving Day, my family and I drive up to Utica to celebrate with my mom’s relatives. Before the feast, the boys of my family usually play a game of football. Meanwhile, the girls usually opt to go for a walk or watch a movie to pass time and work up an appetite for the meal ahead.
November is the month of gratitude. Thanksgiving Day allows Schreiber students and the Port Washington community as a whole to appreciate family, friends and traditions, and of course, the amazing food, such as the traditional apple and pumpkin pies, definitely add to the day’s positivity.
“Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday,” said sophomore Emma Furst. “All of my family comes over, and my mom cooks the best food. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving this year!”
No matter how the traditions formed and came to be, or how you celbrate the holiday, everybody’s family has their own special way to celebrate and show their appreciation towards everything good in their lives. Sometimes we all need a reminder of how grateful we should be of the people that surround us in our everyday lives. It is so important that all Americans have this day to reflect and give thanks to everything they have.