Yesterday was Thanksgiving. My family and I don’t celebrate this holiday with turkeys and family speeches, but that makes me wonder, how do others celebrate Thanksgiving? I did some research on the topic and asked some of my close friends.

Thanksgiving started with early harvest celebrations in North America. The event often called the “first Thanksgiving” happened in 1621, when the Pilgrims at Plymouth shared a harvest meal with the Wampanoag people. They didn’t call it Thanksgiving then, but it was a way to give thanks for the food they had. Later on, different colonies held their own days of thanks. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday to help bring the country together.

Today, Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful and to spend time with family and friends. People usually enjoy a big meal with turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. Many families watch parades or football games, or just relax together. Even though the holiday has changed over time, it is still mainly about giving thanks and appreciating the good things in our lives.

One of my friends said that their big family will all come to one’s house and celebrate together. This year, they flew to North Carolina to her aunt’s house where they ate turkey and hosted a fun question and answer game before giving their thankful speeches.

Another one of my friend has a more casual Thanksgiving. She traveled to New York City and went to visit her grandparents. After eating a family turkey, she decided to stay there for a couple of days, and went to the M & M Store and the Labubu Store with her grandparents.

For my Thanksgiving break I was working on a website about all my hobbies and the things I have done: such as volleyball and being middle school co-president… Here is the link to it if you’re interested: gracelislifejourney.com

I know my family doesn’t really have the tradition of giving thanks. But I would like to give thanks to my parents who take care of me and support me everyday as well as my friends who are always by my side and share funny moments with me. I would also give thanks to my volleyball and cello, which obviously aren’t human, but have been great passions of mine and always manage to put a smile on my face, even when times are hard.