Thanksgiving: A day for families

My family gathered around the table for our Thanksgiving meal. Everyone comes together to celebrate every Thanksgiving together. Photo by Rebekah Plowman.
My family gathered around the table for our Thanksgiving meal. Everyone comes together to celebrate every Thanksgiving together. Photo by Rebekah Plowman.

    The month of November is well known for several holidays and events. One of the most recognized is Thanksgiving. Across the United States Thanksgiving is celebrated by many people in different ways. Every family has their own traditions and spends the holiday following these traditions. My family and I have a few traditions that we’ve kept going and follow every year.

    I begin my day, almost every Thanksgiving, waking up in time to catch the televised Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Something about seeing many of my favorite cartoon characters, like Snoopy, Jimmy Neutron, Shrek and Buzz Lightyear, floating through New York City always made me smile as a child, and I can not say that has changed at all.

    Besides these oversized cartoon icons there were also all of the wonderful performances by musical guests. As a previous member of a high school marching band, watching the guest bands perform their shows has always been inspirational. What young band member would not dream of a chance to perform in one of the biggest parades of the year?

    As noon rolls around we—my mom, dad, brother, and myself—always make our way to my Mamaw’s house where we have our Thanksgiving ‘lunch’ with my mother’s side of the family.

    A meal of turkey, stuffing, potatoes and many other foods is shared amongst the family with the ever-popular pumpkin pie and our own traditional chocolate éclair cake for dessert. After we eat, we spend a while sitting around the table or in the living room talking.

    A few hours pass and we return home in time for Thanksgiving dinner with my dad’s side of the family. We eat, we talk and, quite often, we watch a movie, a Charlie Brown movie if it is on. As the night wears on and everyone departs, we clean up and put away the remaining food.

    As much as this seems to be about the food, it is really not. My family’s Thanksgiving is about just that, family.

    The whole day is spent with family members. We may gather to share a meal, even prepare and bring our own separate dishes and fill the table that much more, but overall we do not truly care about the food itself.

    For my family, Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate all that we have and all that we are as a family. It is a day when we come together and give thanks for all that we have and all the good that has happened over the year.

    Our traditions are just another way to bring us together so that we are able to enjoy this day of thanks together.

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