Eugenia Carlaftes and Sameera Pasha
Thanksgiving is a national holiday where many come together to celebrate tradition and culture. Usually, it is celebrated through eating a big meal with people you love and appreciating, or, “giving thanks,” to things in your life. Whether to get together with family, eat food, or just enjoy the festivities, many staff and students celebrate Thanksgiving in various ways. It may surprise you that a traditional holiday can be celebrated so differently across many different families and cultures.
Cardozo student Melody Wang shared that her family celebrates Thanksgiving much like many families that you would see on TV. Wang said that her family likes to keep it simple. “We just do a little cooking, turkey, have all the traditional, you know, American sides. And we watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and there’s a dog show like right after,” Wang shared. In addition, Wang’s family likes to decorate for Christmas right after, so it’s about being together for the festivities.
Junior Vin Guan shared that his family is also pretty traditional when it comes to Thanksgiving food. “We eat mashed potatoes, turkey, gravy, yeah- also cranberry juice,” he explained. Guan revealed he enjoys the holiday because the food is so good, and his family likes to indulge in the delicious food.
Cardozo teacher Ms. Amato explained that Thanksgiving, for her, is about seeing family, as she goes to her brother-in-law’s house to enjoy dinner and football. Afterward, they usually go to her sister’s house for dessert, making it a family-centered holiday. “It’s nice to spend time with family,” she shared.
Jaylene Barandica, a junior at Cardozo, said that her Dominican family likes to celebrate Thanksgiving by enjoying a meal and listening to some cultural music. “We play a whole bunch of Dominican music dance and sing,” Barandica explained.
Junior Celia Liu also explained how her family’s culture plays a part in her Thanksgiving traditions. “We don’t really have a turkey. Instead, we have hotpot and use it as an excuse to get together once in a while,” Liu revealed. “Because my family comes from China, we don’t really care for American customs such as having a turkey.”
Many people celebrate Thanksgiving in their own individual ways with unique traditions. No matter what culture you come from, or what traditions you celebrate, the things that seem to unite us all unanimously are a love of eating good food with good company.