Thanksgiving is a time when people can come together and celebrate what they are thankful for in life, share their gratitude, and spend time with family and friends, but the way people celebrate can sometimes differ depending on the person’s culture, religion, and background. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is celebrated with turkey, stuffing, gravy, and pumpkin pie. For others, it is completely different or similar but mixed with other traditions. For example, junior Miguel Mendez and freshman Isabella Hernandez, both come from Mexican-American and Catholic backgrounds. George’s Thanksgiving consists of “tamales, arroz con pollo, flan, and sometimes birria.” He said his favorite part is to, “Combine the turkey with the arroz and add a little bit of gravy. It’s delicious.” Isabella Hernandez said, “My family tends to gather in a circle and give thanks. Then we all eat. My favorite part is the flan and tres leches.” Although George and Isabella celebrate similarly to others, there is still a mix of Mexican heritage in their Thanksgivings.
Learning how different people from different backgrounds celebrate this holiday of thanks, provides a closer look at how one’s cultural identity can shape modern traditions. Sophomore Blake Loebel, who is Catholic and Jewish, celebrates with the traditional Thanksgiving foods, he also mentioned how, “My family always says grace before and after eating. We also play some board games afterward to entertain my younger siblings and cousins.” Similar to Blake, sophomore Karissa Nelson also plays board games with her family during Thanksgiving. Her favorite game is, “Monopoly, because I think it’s funny how mad everyone gets over a silly board game.” She is American and non-religious. Senior Itzel Gandulia celebrates Thanksgiving similarly to Blake and Karissa. She says her prayers with her family and they all gather around to eat together. The one thing she does differently is, “Instead of cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving, my family and I make an apple sauce for the food. I don’t know if this is just my family or if others do the same thing.” Itzel Gandulia is Peruvian.
Sophomore Deema Taha and her friend sophomore Anne Nguyen, both come from different backgrounds but still enjoy celebrating Thanksgiving. Deema Taha is from Sudan and Anne Nguyen is Vietnamese. Deema Taha said, “My family and I like to chill at home and maybe watch a Thanksgiving movie or something else.” Anne Nguyen on the other hand said, “Every Thanksgiving my family and I travel to San Diego to visit my stepdad. From there we celebrate normally with food and prayers.” Similarly to Anne Nguyen, sophomore Audrina Daniels who is mixed white and black with a Jewish faith, likes to celebrate traditionally. Daniels said, “I spend Thanksgiving with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and so much more.” Junior, Alex Koplow, celebrates Thanksgiving like the average American except for one thing, he said, “My family likes to deep dry turkey because it tastes better.” For most people this may be a little out of the norm because most like their turkey juicy and hot, but not for Alex.
Everyone’s family celebrates Thanksgiving differently, maybe it is the way you cook something or just one simple unique tradition. Junior George Torres and his family have a very unique tradition not most have. Torres celebrates Thanksgiving traditionally with, “Mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, pineapple, and ham.” But, on the day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday, Torres and his family celebrate Thanksgiving again. “My Grandma Cece started this tradition and my family has decided to carry it on even after she passed away. She started it because sometimes families can’t make it on Thursday, so she decided to give them another day so that we could all see each other for Thanksgiving. The day is always emotional because we do this tradition to honor her,” said Torres.
