As the season for gratitude and Fall spirit arrives, students look forward to the approaching Thanksgiving break. Turkey, pumpkin pie, and cranberry sauce on a decorated dinner table scattered with Fall leaves may be the image we think of when we hear the word “Thanksgiving”.
However, while Thanksgiving has been a holiday traditionally celebrated in this country, its traditional meaning has been adapted and changed by many students who partake in the celebration. Students see it as a time to appreciate their loved ones and what they offer one another.
Junior Colbie Freese usually spends Thanksgiving with her family at her aunt’s house in Sacramento. On their drive down they listen to the song “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” by Arlo Guthrie, a holiday highlight. Each family member brings a homemade food item to enjoy at the gathering. “My grandmother only makes these cheesy olive appetizers once a year on Thanksgiving,” Freese said. This year, the Freese family will be celebrating on a vineyard. Freese said “we don’t recognize Thanksgiving as what it’s been known for historically, and now we just celebrate the holiday as an opportunity to meet with family we don’t get a chance to see that often…and create some long-lasting memories.”
Freshman Vasy Pridatko goes to Pleasant Hill every year to get together with family and friends. Pridatko said “we get together and have a bunch of food that we cook…We’re Russian so we usually have a cooked duck instead of turkey.” Pridatko doesn’t get to see her family and friends in Pleasant Hill often and thinks “Thanksgiving is a good time to be grateful and see them.”
Freshman Katherine VonderBrink usually spends the holiday at her uncle’s house in Malibu with extended family. This year, her family will be staying local and her grandfather is coming to visit them. She enjoys having “traditional foods and being with family.”
During this holiday season students look forward to embracing moments of grateful reflection.
