Thanksgiving 

By: Calia Bennett 

On the fourth Thursday in November of each year, we celebrate an annual holiday known as Thanksgiving. What is this holiday about? Why is it so important to our nation’s history? This article will dive into all these questions.  

Thanksgiving Day is an annual national holiday, typically celebrated in the United States and Canada, that honors the harvest and other bounties of the previous year. It is often seen as a holiday to be spent with friends and family and celebrate the things they are grateful for. Thanksgiving is typically seen as a holiday that stands for peace, thankfulness, and a beginning to the holiday season. 

Following the success of the Pilgrims’ first grain harvest in November 1621, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited some of the colony’s Native American supporters, including Wampanoag chief Massasoit. The feast, often known as America’s “first Thanksgiving” (though the Pilgrims may not have used the word at the time), lasted three days. 

There are many ways that people celebrate Thanksgiving. During an interview with Jasmine Sadler, a student from Lenape Tech’s advertising department, she said that, “I wake up super early with my family so we can watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade and the dog show later. We then eat dinner in the afternoon and dessert at night.” While interviewing Ayden Douglas, a student from Lenape Tech’s culinary department, he stated, “My family normally eats dinner together and then watches a movie.” No matter how someone celebrates Thanksgiving, the day should still be remembered as a day to be grateful.