The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Photo courtesy of Mercy College

Thanksgiving is meant to be a day of thanks for all that we have, but it’s important not to forget what everyone looks forward to… the food!

 A huge part of Thanksgiving is family and unique traditions. These family traditions can range anywhere from watching the parade, to playing a game of family football as the turkey cooks. Freshman Jenna Clover says, “My family watched Elf every year on thanksgiving night to ‘begin the Christmas season.”

Santa Claus ends the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Photo courtesy of Zimbio

My family’s traditions start from 7a.m., and go until we are so full, that we instantly fall asleep in preparation for Black Friday. It all begins with the promise my sisters and I make to my mom saying we will be up by 7a.m. to help her cook, but then fail and wake up at 10a.m. Soon after we all begin to watch the parade and start cooking lunch, with everyone trying to avoid being put in charge of peeling the apples. Within an hour or two we are all exhausted, and decide to take a break, leaving our Mom with all the cooking duties.

Then we all get to eat lunch, and get ready to head to our uncle and aunt’s house for the annual family dinner. As you walk through the doors of their home, all of our cousins, aunts, and uncles are waiting to greet the new incoming guests. Their house has three floors, and each one has a different activity going on. In the basement, old family movies are playing, where everyone can’t help but laugh.

Photo courtesy of Good Housekeeping

Next is the middle floor with the most commotion. On this floor all of the adults are sitting playing card games and the toddlers and babies are running around playing games like hide-and-go-seek and “Ninja”. And of course the most important part, all of the food from that fresh juicy turkey, to the world’s best Mango pie.

The last floor is the top floor, where all of the older cousins hide from the responsibilities of watching their younger cousins and cutting the turkey. As always in our family, the priest says grace first, and we go around the room saying what we are thankful for. Then we all watch as the oldest member of the family, my uncle, cuts into the delicious turkey, serving each person from oldest to youngest. After that, we all go around the rest of the table to get our favorite side dishes such as corn, rice, and mashed potatoes. Once everyone is stuffed to their limit, and has said their good-byes, we return home in preparation for the next day’s tiring shopping trip.

Photo courtesy of Romper

Whether you were looking forward to the mashed potatoes, or the apple pie, don’t forget to remember that Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful, and to spend with your families. Happy Thanksgiving!

By Angeline Jacob’20, Staff Writer