Bridgewater, Va.- Bridgewater College students share their experiences of their Thanksgiving break as they were able to reconnect with their families, enjoy a traditional meal and explain why Thanksgiving is an important holiday in the US.
Thanksgiving Day is a traditional holiday which occurs on the fourth Thursday of November. This holiday feast started with the Puritans who started the feast in England who shared a feast with Native Americans in 1621. It occurred for more than two centuries, until 1863, when it was officially made a holiday by President Lincoln.
“The Thanksgiving tradition has been really big in my family growing up,” said senior Jaylin Hertz. “There would be a big gathering at my grandparents’ house with all my family members that live far away that would travel to come and enjoy a dinner with the family.”
“My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is that it happens during the school year, which allows me to take a mental break from school for a few days and be able to spend time with family and friends while enjoying the football games,” said senior Jordan Fulgod.
The holiday of Thanksgiving is centered around cooking and sharing a meal with family and friends. Turkey is a symbol of this holiday, being that this is what is traditionally eaten by most Americans. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, macaroni and cheese and pumpkin pie.
“My favorite thing to eat is the mac and cheese at Thanksgiving, which is usually the first thing to be eaten at the dinner table,” said junior Justin Dobb. “My family makes about eight boxes of mac and cheese, and it’s all gone by the next morning.”
“The turkey used to be my favorite at the Thanksgiving table until I started eating more ham because of the flavor that it has,” said senior Alex Jensen. “I usually load up on ham on my plate and usually eat more for leftovers until it’s all gone.”
Another important theme of Thanksgiving is giving to the unfortunate who aren’t wealthy enough to afford a Thanksgiving turkey or canned goods, so they can enjoy a meal. A common theme leading up to Thanksgiving break is that communities often host food drives and free dinners for the less fortunate.
“Every year my family likes to give back to those people who are in need of food, so we have a food drive in the front of our house where we give over 100 turkeys to families in the community that cannot afford to get one for themselves,” said Jensen.
