Student give thanks with unique family traditions

Whether your entire family is all in one place or spread across the world, not everyone gets to come together. Work, school, and other aspects of everyday lives make it difficult to spend quality time with the rest of the family. Thankfully, all of that gets put on hold thanks to a special day–Thanksgiving.

Junior Giulianna Caffy used to celebrate Thanksgiving by learning about the story behind it.

“When I was younger, my mom used to take me to church, and we would learn about the pilgrims, which now I know were bad. I think we were taught false information,” Caffy said.

Caffy gets together with eleven guests in her house, making it a busy dinner. Her six siblings, mom and dad, nephew, and nephew’s mother gather to enjoy the Thanksgiving meal.

“We’re Hispanic so we don’t have the traditional Thanksgiving dishes, but I still love everything [my mom] makes. I think the potato salad is the best,” Caffy said. “I’m looking forward to filling my belly up.”

Senior Romy Bitton was born in Israel but still celebrates the American holiday with her family.

“We’re always at someone else’s house, but we always eat the basic stuff like turkey, stuffing, gravy, and the sweet potatoes and marshmallows,” Bitton said. 

Bitton and her family relax together and talk about what’s going on in their lives during the meal.

“We don’t all go around the table and say what we are thankful for,” Bitton said. “Usually we just all hang out and talk with one another. Maybe the kids will go up to their parents and say thank you for everything but we don’t sit around the table and go one by one saying what we are thankful for.”

Sophomore Rebeckah Rondon enjoys both of her family’s cultures during Thanksgiving. She indulges in American food for one meal and Venezuelan food for another.

“In the afternoon we have lunch with my mom’s side, and at night we have dinner with my father’s side,” Rondon said. 

With her mom’s side of the family, they eat traditional American Thanksgiving meals such as turkey and stuffing. With her dad’s side, her family eats something different.

“They like pork and arepas and hallacas,” Rondon said.

Arepas are corn cakes that can be filled with different meats and cheeses, but Rondon and her family eat them with Reina Pepiada – a chicken and avocado salad. For Hallacas, also known as tamales, her family eats them with carne mechada. Carne Mechada is Venezuelan shredded beef that can be flavored with onions, sweet bell peppers, and cumin.

For some people, Thanksgiving is a reason they can finally reunite with all their family members and be together all in one place. Whether it’s food or activities that bring them together, it’s the perfect time to give thanks to everyone around.