The traditional American Thanksgiving includes the 3 F’s: food, family and football. Thanksgiving in the United States is known as a time to come together with your loved ones and celebrate each other’s company. While many of us here at St. Dominic share similar traditions, there are a few who stray away from the usual ordeal.

Some students use Thanksgiving as a preview for Christmas time.

“Every year for Thanksgiving, my mom’s entire family goes over to my grandma’s who lives by herself. After everyone is done eating, all the grandkids decorate her 12-foot-tall Christmas tree while the whole family watches Christmas Vacation,” said senior Jordyn Hardy.

Others switch up some of the traditional foods and replace them with something different.

“My grandma makes spaghetti for our family because she likes to have a variety on Thanksgiving,” said junior Lexi Burkemper.

“Instead of the traditional turkey, our family eats lamb. It sounds weird, but it’s actually really good,” said senior Christina McArthy.

Some even have a little fun with their meals.

“As embarrassing as it is, our family likes to name our turkeys every year. The previous years they were Gertrude and then Freddie,” said junior Timmy McAteer.

Though Thanksgiving is a holiday that originated in America, a number of other countries also celebrate harvest-related festivals. In China,
families, friends and loved ones gather to watch the full moon during their Autumn Moon festival. During this time they make delicious moon cakes and perform puppet shows with lantern processions.

In Great Britain, there is a tradition of beginning their harvest festival with the gathering of the last sheaf of corn. This last sheaf is treated with special respect and is used to make into a “corn dolly.” The spirit of the corn is kept alive for the next year.

Even though Thanksgiving is an American tradition, variations of the holiday are found all over the world. Although Thanksgiving is thought to only be about the food and the football, many have proven that it can be different from the standard while still being an amazing holiday.