THE SPOOKY season has officially ended, which means it’s time for turkey, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful and a time to be with family, friends, and, of course, to eat yummy food, while continuing old traditions or even creating new ones.

“In my family, we celebrate Thanksgiving by praying, eating, and spending time with loved ones. We usually start our day by cooking many different foods, which takes up most of the day. We usually host it at our house. We don’t like going out during the holidays because of all the traffic and chaos, so we prefer to stay at home comfortably,” Donavan Monjaraz (12) said.

“My family doesn’t eat the traditional Thanksgiving dinner; we usually make a variety of Mexican dishes such as pozole, tamales, and birria. Each family member has a special dish they make. I usually focus more on the desserts. But we all help with the tamales, which is my favorite family tradition we have,” he said.

Nelly Siharath (12) says Thanksgiving isn’t really a big thing at his house. “Thanksgiving isn’t really a big thing we celebrate. I think it’s just an excuse for my dad and uncle to go out and buy something that we can eat for the next couple of days. We don’t really like to have big gatherings with other people, so it’s usually just my dad, uncle, grandma, and me at our house,” he said.

“We don’t really cook on Thanksgiving; instead, we order takeout. My family is simple; the closest thing we can get to a turkey is when we order KFC. Or we can go all out occasionally and order some crab from a Dim Sum place. I think we might be the only family that orders crab on Thanksgiving Day, which is a unique treat we like to have,” Siharath said.

What Siharath looks forward to the most during Thanksgiving is the short school break and the food. “I really look forward to there being no school on Thanksgiving because I love staying at home and also eating, so that’s what I’m most excited about,” they said.

Here at Granger, some students and their families enjoy huge parties with cousins, grandparents, in-laws, and even close family friends. But some families prefer to keep it simple and spend the day with their immediate family. This holiday can be unique to each individual, including who attends the dinners, what food is served, where they spend the holiday, and so much more.

Grace Kim’s (12) family either hosts at her house or spends the holiday at her aunt’s house. “I either spend the day with my sister, mom, and dad, or sometimes even with my extended family and their family,” she said.

“We typically wake up very early to start preparing our food, either traditional Thanksgiving dishes or Korean dishes such as Japchae, Jeon, and Hotteok. Throughout the day, we do some family activities and then end the day with showing gratitude with gifts and prayers to each other, family that’s not with us, and ancestors who helped us make it through another year,” Kim said.

“My favorite Thanksgiving tradition that’s unique to us is probably eating lots of rice cakes the day before, day of, and sometimes the day after. It symbolizes wealth and gratitude in Korean culture. This is a tradition I look forward to every year,” Kim said.