Many Americans look forward to the last Thursday of November for their Thanksgiving meal to bring them together with their families. Families travel far and wide to be with relatives for this day. They come for the delicious prepared meal and old family traditions. Every family has its own traditions.
The first traditions of Thanksgiving Day were at Plymouth, Mass. with pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians. The Pilgrims and Wampanoags started the real tradition of Thanksgiving; their first Thanksgiving lasted three days. They prepared a very different meal from the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pies. They had lobster, rabbit, chicken, fish, squashes, beans, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, leeks, dried fruits, maple syrup and honey, radishes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, and goat cheese.
Whitney Bill, a Weber State University psychology major, said she has her fair share of Thanksgivings this year. She said she celebrates Thanksgiving three times with different family members. One Thanksgiving meal happens the Sunday before with her mother’s family and the other two on Thanksgiving Day with her father’s side and fiance’s family.
She said her father’s side of the family is Navajo Indian and celebrates Thanksgiving a little different.
“The only food that is different is corn; my father’s side always has corn,” Bill said about the difference in tradition. “My family also makes the little kids finish their food. It’s like food can’t be wasted, which seems stereotypical of Indians, but it’s true with my family.”
Marvin Walker, a WSU communication-electronic major, is originally from California. He said he is used to celebrating Thanksgiving with his family at his cousin’s house.
“That is what I would do if I was home, but I haven’t been home since for Thanksgiving since 2006. I always get together with teammates and go to their families’ houses,” Walker said.
“We usually have close friends and family over to my house,” said Jon Davis, WSU business and finance major. “We eat turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. We play card games after dinner, and usually, I end up going and seeing a movie at night.”
Other American traditions that occur on Thanksgiving include watching football or the Macy’s Day Parade or seeing movies that come out on Thanksgiving. This year, The Muppets comes to movie theaters on Thanksgiving Day.
