Thanksgiving traditions

After Halloween has finally died down, and the secret bag of candy under your bed has emptied to a mere a handful of candy corn, stores begin to take down their jack o lanterns and replace them with squash and dancing turkeys. America turns their attention to the next major holiday – Thanksgiving.

As Thanksgiving steadily approaches people begin to make their usual Thanksgiving plans. Whether dinner plans are out of state or in town, with family or with friends, it seems as if almost everyone has traditions that they celebrate very year.

Turkey Day Tackles

Football is a favorite past time of Thanksgiving. In an informal Blair survey of 100 people, 61% of students said that they watch football on Thanksgiving.

Some people decide to use the football games to their advantage and make a little cash. "[My family and I] usually get together with one of our neighbors. The boys always bet on the [football] games," Junior Elzmarie Eckert said.

Creative Expression

Other students find that showing their creative side is what they look forward to every year. Junior Lillian Rosen puts on performances every year on Thanksgiving. "We always go over to our friend's house and make a video. They're always a lot of fun and really funny," she says with a smile of reminiscence.

Showing your creative side does not just revolve around one's acting talents. Sophomore Vanessa Penney says that she makes "potato turkeys" every year with toothpicks for legs and construction paper for the head and tail. Meanwhile Junior Will Timpson makes Thanksgiving candy with his family.

Food- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Food traditions are unavoidable at Thanksgiving. Junior Alicia Posner sadly confesses that hers is not nearly as yummy as Timpson's candy. "My mom makes corn muffins that taste like sawdust. I always have to force myself to eat them," she says.

Turkey is normally something that people can look forward to on Thanksgiving. An informal poll of 100 students showed that only 83% eat Turkey on Thanksgiving while the other 12% eat vegetarian meals and 5% choose a different main course including chicken, duck, or ham.

Friends or Family

Whether its turkey or ham on the table, Thanksgiving is not nearly as special as whom you eat it with. Sophomore Katrina Comisiak spends her Thanksgiving with friends. "Our whole neighborhood comes over and we all just pig out," she says.

Others opt to combine family and friend time on our day of thanks. Sophomores Gaby Diaz and Cynthia Adarkwa eat Thanksgiving dinner with their family and then have desert with friends.

Sophomore Jacob Wilson, on the other hand, eats dinner with a large group of his family. "My entire family goes to Baltimore to eat. This includes first and second cousins," he says.

Sophomore Jozi Zuerdling has a lot of fun with her family on Thanksgiving. "We sing and play family games," she said. "Then we all say what we're thankful for in different languages and see who can do it in the most."