Thanksgiving is a common American holiday celebrated with feasting. As this holiday grew, many people started celebrating differently and interpreting the traditions their own way.

“Me and my family get together and have a big dinner, and we chill out with each other and have fun,” junior Jordan Mack said.

Although many families celebrate with just close relatives, different families have different ways of celebrating, like inviting distant family or friends.

“We get all our family from Virginia and the D.C area,” Mack said. “We get our cousins, uncles, nephews, and long distance friends too. Then we have the Thanksgiving meal and all the elders in my family cook, they cook some good food. The mashed potatoes and the gravy, everything is made from scratch. It’s all so good.”

Plenty of traditions are not as common. Some families make dinner together, some even sing.

“Me and my family talk around the table and say what we’re thankful for, then we sing,” sophomore Jasmine Smith said.

There are also tons of different traditions that multiple families across America share, such as watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and a Thanksgiving day football game.

“My favorite part of Thanksgiving is watching football with my family,” freshman Joshua Swirczeck said.

Many people see the holiday as a time to be closer with family members and friends.

“People celebrate Thanksgiving in America to reconnect with everybody, to go back to our roots and laugh and talk with each other,” Mack said.

Thanksgiving is a holiday for people to enjoy the time they have with their loved ones without having to worry about exchanging gifts.

“It’s the one time when you don’t have to worry about the pressure of giving gifts. You can just sit around and eat, and talk about what you’re going to do over Christmas,” science teacher Jim Kros said.