As the semester is coming to a close, and with students not looking forward to finals, they instead forward to the week-long Thanksgiving break! When Wildcats are back home and with their family, they participate in various, unique family traditions. Thanksgiving looks different for every family whether they participate in a ‘turkey trot” or sleep in, and Wildcats are no exception.
Freshman Olivia Sahagian spends Thanksgiving with her immediate family including her mom, dad, twin brothers and dogs. The Sahagians start the day off with the classic Macy’s Day Parade watching the big floats and Rockettes ring in the holiday season. Following the parade, the family watches the Puppy Bowl. The Puppy Bowl mimics the Super Bowl but instead of a 300-pound linebacker, there is a 14-pound Golden Retriever puppy running around along with other puppies of different breeds.
Once the annual television events are over, Sahagian and her mom prepare the Thanksgiving dinner. The family has a classic Thanksgiving dinner of turkey, ham and mashed potatoes. After dinner, they watch Christmas movies and eat pumpkin pie.
When asked about her favorite part of Thanksgiving, Sahagian said, “This is going to sound really cheesy, but spending time with my family and being all together.”
Freshman Tyler Shuter’s Thanksgiving looks a little different. Shuter’s family are early risers on Thanksgiving morning. Gathering at Shuter’s house in Los Angeles, the whole family, ranging from 12-18 people, gets together by the time the second Thanksgiving football game starts. For the last 19 years, the NFL has had three games broadcasted for Thanksgiving day. Unfortunately for Shuter, the Philadelphia Eagles haven’t played on Thanksgiving day since 2015.
The rest of the day is spent enjoying each other’s company and eating food. Shuter’s favorite thing about the holiday is seeing his out-of-town family that he doesn’t get to see very often.
For Sophomore Cam Coughlin, the Thanksgiving celebration begins the week leading up to Thanksgiving. Their family makes homemade Chex Mix from a family recipe to enjoy for the whole week. In Coughlin’s family, everyone has their own assignments so everyone makes a contribution to the celebration. Coughlin’s job is to peel apples and potatoes.
After everyone’s jobs are complete and dinner is served and devoured, the family has the tradition of watching Will Ferrel’s Elf to transition into the rest of the holiday season.
When asked about their favorite part of Thanksgiving, Coughlin initially said, “Having my own job and being a part of it all.” Then they immediately changed their answer, “Actually, my favorite part is eating it all.”
From the Puppy Bowl, to football, to Chex Mix, Thanksgiving differs from family to family. The common theme among these Wildcat traditions is family. Students are grateful for the week-long break because we get that much more time to spend with our loved ones. Even if some relatives can be a struggle to deal with, gathering with family is what makes Thanksgiving so special.
