Thanksgiving is when most families come together to celebrate what they are thankful for. Families gather together to eat traditional Thanksgiving foods such as turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. We asked our school what their favorite Thanksgiving food was. The results were shocking. You would think turkey or pumpkin pie would win, but no. We received 113 responses from our school. The students voted overwhelmingly for mashed potatoes as their favorite Thanksgiving food!

Senior, Lydia Jones said, “mashed potatoes are my favorite Thanksgiving food because they are so creamy and buttery and I love putting a lot of salt on them.” 

Another student, senior Kameryn Beasterfeld  said, “corn is my favorite Thanksgiving food because it is sweet and very tasty. I love it. I have had it a lot over the years.” 

 Around 83% of people in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was traced back all the way to 1621. The pilgrims settled in Plymouth Massachusetts celebrated with a feast. This event was attended by the pilgrims and the Native Americans, who helped them survive their first year in this new world. The tradition of Thanksgiving continued in the following years. Not until 1863 during the Civil War, did Thanksgiving became a national holiday. President Abraham Lincoln decided that the last Thursday in November would be the day they celebrated Thanksgiving. 

Over time, people celebrate Thanksgiving in a lot of different ways. Thanksgiving is when families gather together and have dinner. Most people also watch all of the Thanksgiving parades that go on in the morning. Some families also come together to watch the football games that go on during the day. The NFL schedules games on Thanksgiving day so people can come together and watch the games as a family. 

Sophomore, Dominick Tower says, “my family always watches the Lions game together on Thanksgiving and the Bear’s aren’t doing so well this year, so I know they will win and it will be a good game.”

Thanksgiving is also about giving thanks. Some people want to give back to the community and go and volunteer to help others out on this day. Some people go to the soup kitchen or a food bank to help provide meals for those in need. Lastly, people come together the day after Thanksgiving and go Black Friday shopping which can be a big part of the tradition in some people’s families. Thanksgiving comes with different traditions that every family does differently. Thanksgiving is about giving thanks and being grateful for what you have.