Thanksgiving: Sitting around the table with all of your family members, a plate full of delicious homemade food, and laughter and joy fill the air. Who wouldn’t want to experience this?
Thanksgiving is a traditional fall holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year in the United States. It is based on the Native American and Pilgrim three-day festival in 1621, where the English Colonists and Wampanoag people of Plymouth, Massachusetts, shared a bountiful harvest. The 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, officially declared Thanksgiving a federal holiday in 1863 in the wake of the Civil War.
Why should we celebrate Thanksgiving? Is it just a way to get out of work and school? Not at all, it is way more than just a way to get a break.
Thanksgiving is a big opportunity for family and friends to come together, enjoy each other’s company and presence, and eat a big meal with one another. Whether it’s cousins you see once a year or your parents, who you see every day, spending time with loved ones is proven to increase happiness levels and release dopamine in your brain. Also, spending time with family decreases stress and anxiety levels and enhances your mental health and wellbeing.
“It’s a season of coming together, and being with your family makes it a lot better. You get to spend time with them and have quality time around the Thanksgiving dinner table,” freshman Ezra Shepski said.
Thanksgiving is widely recognized as a holiday for celebrating gratitude, giving thanks and helping others. Here in Centre County, we have organizations such as State College Food Bank, Centre Helps, and State High’s very own Key Club.
All those programs provide help to our community members and their families to give them assistance to have such a great holiday season. Also, you yourself can look upon your life and recognize what you’re thankful for and who you’re thankful for, and tell those special people that to brighten their day.
“It’s good to be grateful for on Thanksgiving because it shows that you are appreciative and are thankful for what you have, and you appreciate your history and the people, and the food, and all of the things that you have now,” freshman Henry Poole said.
In addition, Thanksgiving is full of many unique traditions that people all over the country cherish. Yes, there are widespread events that people enjoy during this holiday, such as turkey trots and thankfulness activities, but also some special and memorable traditions that each family has.
Some people enjoy sitting down in the morning and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and seeing all the unique floats. Others enjoy watching Thanksgiving football or even have their very own backyard football game. All these traditions make Thanksgiving a very special occasion.
People also choose not to celebrate Thanksgiving because of personal beliefs, particularly that the holiday stems from Native American oppression, racism and violence towards them. Yes, they did face horrible things, but we can still celebrate this great holiday while also recognizing its troubles historically. We can appreciate the time with our families during Thanksgiving and enjoy each other’s presence, but realize its origin is flawed.
