According to Catherine Boeckmann, the digital editor for Almanac.com, Thanksgiving has been perceived to begin with the Pilgrims, but really this holiday goes back hundreds, if not thousands of years. It was unofficially celebrated by the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. Historically, Thanksgiving was celebrated to be thankful for everything that people had before the harsh winter came, and it brought together arguing communities in a peaceful and happy manner.
Thanksgiving will be celebrated on Thursday, November 23, 2023 and is held on the fourth Thursday every November. Family and Friends gather together and spend all day preparing food and showing thanks for one another’s company, then proceed to eat the special meal they prepared.
However there is some controversy over Thanksgiving, as eating turkey is not such a delicacy, and thanks to technology, people are able to see their family more than once a year. So how has Thanksgiving adjusted with the new comings of modern day technology? And is Thanksgiving really a worthwhile holiday?
“It’s just a day where you cook a bunch of meals and then you eat, and you eat more, and then three hours later, you eat more. So it’s just continuous eating and then you sleep,” says Lydia Heintz, a Freshman at BBH. Thanksgiving traditions have been lost to this generation of teenagers and young adults. Instead of actually celebrating family togetherness or giving thanks, Thanksgiving may have become a holiday about eating.
Originally, Thanksgiving was a celebration to be thankful for all the things people still had. In addition, people were grateful for the harvest from the prior harvesting season. During the origins of Thanksgiving, a lot of wars were fought, so this holiday was used to express gratitude for the people who survived the battles.
Mrs. Reynolds, a math teacher at BBH says, “Our families don’t get together in large groups anymore, so we typically spend Thanksgiving at home and make all of our favorite things.”
Thanksgiving is celebrated on a much smaller scale than it was before, making it both easier to speak to our loved ones, as well as to be so much further away from them. Physical distance has made it more difficult for loved ones to be able to join together for a meal and express their gratitude and love for each other.
“I think at this point in my life, I like being forced to think about what I’m grateful for. I think recognizing and appreciating what we have in our lives is a really important thing that needs to be done more often. I also think the more that we appreciate what we’re grateful for and what we have in our lives, the happier we end up being.” says Sarah Ignatz-Hoover, an English teacher at BBH.
While distance and schedules make it hard to celebrate Thanksgiving as a family, a lot of younger people have taken to a new holiday called “Friendsgiving”. People will meet with their “new found” family and share their thankfulness for each other. Delish Magazine says, “ It’s basically the day you celebrate Thanksgiving with your friends.”
While tradition is important when it comes to Thanksgiving, everyone can agree that a little spin on things can make a big difference. “ If the weather is nice, we’ll take a hike if we can – just to get outside. We have traditional food, but in an untraditional way. We still have turkey (but it’s fried turkey tenders like chicken tenders), and we still have pie, (but it’s chocolate pie, not pumpkin pie). I make the green bean casserole that was a tradition for my family, but now I make it the way my kids like it,” says Reynolds.
Thanksgiving is about celebrating the things that are still here, family, friends, pets, and so much more. “I don’t really have anything untraditional, we don’t have any untraditional traditions. It’s very magazine thanksgiving because my grandma is the Marcus Stewart of the suburbs,” says Gryffen Albainy, a sophomore at BBH.
Making new traditions can change the world’s view on this traditional holiday. This world has changed with the new comings of technology and being able to speak to a relative that’s thousands of miles away, so why can’t Thanksgiving change with it?
History.com Editors. (2023, June 26). Thanksgiving 2023. Retrieved October 30,
2023, from https://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/
history-of-thanksgiving
Boeckmann, C. (2023, September 11). What You Need to Know about Thanksgiving in
America. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://www.almanac.com/
thanksgiving-day
Morillo, A. (2023, October 20). What Is Friendsgiving And Where Did The Holiday
Come From? Retrieved November 10, 2023, from https://www.delish.com/
food-news/a33957858/what-is-friendsgiving/
