Thanksgiving or Turkey Day is a worldwide holiday that millions celebrate in November. Most will have dinner with family and friends and eat one of the many dishes, one being turkey.
In 1863, on the last Thursday of November, Thanksgiving was celebrated as a day of thanks. Then Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it as a national holiday that same year. Usually, families will eat turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and stuffing.
In African American culture, it is a day to give thanks, celebrate with friends and family, and eat delicious food. Meals in this culture will mainly consist of sweet potato pie, collard greens, turkey, fried chicken, candied yams, or their heritage food.
African Americans also pray on this day to give thanks to God. They thank him for the many blessings they have received and the future ones to come. Food and prayer are a huge part of this day because they bring family and friends even closer than before.
“Every year for Thanksgiving, my mom, my grandma, my aunty make a traditional Jamaican meal. It contains oxtail, it contains potatoes, it contains a Jamaican soup sauce, it’s similar to broth, but it’s not exactly broth, and it has extra seasoning in it,” junior Malcolm Whitehead II said.
Whitehead eats his heritage food for Thanksgiving, which is oxtail stew. He takes this day as giving thanks and spending time with his family.
In American culture, Thanksgiving is celebrated as a day of thanks, eating, and enjoying time together. Some families will go to parades, watch football, but most of all eat. Food in this culture includes turkey, ham, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, or even mashed potatoes.
“My family goes camping, and on Thanksgiving night we all gather around, we all bring certain dishes to our Thanksgiving dinner, and my family usually brings cranberry sauce, because [my sister and I] love eating cranberry sauce with our turkey and mashed potatoes,” junior Danielle Palmer said.
Palmer loves this day, eating with her family, and enjoys camping with them. She spends this day in joy and love.
Thanksgiving is a joyous day for all and a time to celebrate, appreciate, and love those around.
