Thanksgiving is a holiday that most people celebrate in honor of the first harvest the Pilgrims celebrated when the New World was discovered by Christopher Columbus. Many families participate in different traditions to give thanks for their friends and family. Some traditions include watching football on Thanksgiving day, making food recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation, and even have family-time to discuss what everyone is thankful for. Sophomore, Isabella Daniels, loves her family more than anything, and spending quality time means everything to her. One family tradition that her family has been doing for a long time is sitting down and talking about what they are thankful for.

“I am very close to my family, and thanksgiving is our special day to turn off phones and talk to each other. We have many traditions, but I think my favorite tradition we have is my whole family sitting with each other and talking about what we are thankful for and writing it down,” Daniels said.

Watching football while eating food from recipes that have been passed down from generation to generation is what some families enjoy doing most. Some generational recipes include a special pie recipe that no one else uses, like Mandarian Orange Cake, or a different way of cooking turkey, or ham. Watching the football game on Thanksgiving day is also a tradition for some families as well, because they enjoy the sport and cheering on their favorite team. Sophomore, McKenzie Morgan, has many family traditions and celebrations that she enjoys on the holiday. Her family loves watching football, and they enjoy spending time with each other, watching the sport, and eating food that has been passed down.

“Family traditions are a big way for our family to connect during the holidays. Watching football and eating my family’s pecan pie that has been passed down to my mother from her grandma is a tradition we have. My dad loves watching his favorite teams play on the holiday, so he can sit on the couch and eat pie,” Morgan said.

Even though Thanksgiving is a way for us to be with our family, some people, however, do not like the history of the holiday, and therefore, do not like the holiday itself. Some people do not celebrate the holiday, because of its controversial history and background. According to an article published by The Independent on, think the history is controversial, because many people believe that the date the first feast celebrating Thanksgiving happened is incorrect and that the Pilgrims took advantage of the Native Americans during the time the New World was discovered. Sophomore, Jermey Perez, does not agree with the history of Thanksgiving, because he does not think that certain aspects of the holiday line up with the original feast day.

“It has always bothered me that we only started eating stuff like turkey or pumpkin pie, because certain people ate them. I feel like when the feast did happen, that the Native Americans were being taken advantage of at the time. I still like the holiday, because of the food and football, it is just the history that bothers me a little bit,” Perez said.

Thanksgiving is a holiday to remind us why we appreciate the special things and what we are thankful for. Thanksgiving traditions like watching football or saying what you are thankful for is a way for us to recognize what we are grateful for. However, not everyone likes the history of Thanksgiving, because of how the outlook was. Regardless, the holiday is a day of giving and a day to celebrate friends and family.