Personal Narrative Essay: Thanksgiving Day of My Family
Sizzle, sizzle! The beautiful sizzling sound of my father pouring apple juice onto our turkey was a noise I loved to hear. "That turkey looks delicious,'' I thought to myself as my mouth watered. Every year, my family smoked a turkey for the main dish at our Thanksgiving feast, and it represented all of our Thanksgiving traditions into one. We also do many other activities together that only happen around the Thanksgiving holiday. Throughout the world, many people might be able to relate to this. However, many people celebrate Thanksgiving, the holiday of gratitude and thankfulness, a little differently. Everybody celebrates the important holiday differently, with each family having its unique activities, traditions, food choices, and gatherings. For example, some families might eat ham or ribs, and some might not eat anything special. The way my family celebrates Thanksgiving might differ from others, but they are also similar in several ways.
One of the most vital parts of celebrating Thanksgiving is the food put on the dinner table. Items made to celebrate the holiday are commonly turkey, stuffing, gravy, rolls, and pumpkin pie. My family celebrates Thanksgiving this way; it is the way we have for many years. Smoking the turkey used to be my grandpa's job, but it is now my dad's. In the kitchen, my mom makes a scrumptious pumpkin pie, stuffing, gravy, and baked rolls. We then eat together at our rarely used dining room table and enjoy the food we have prepared. As I have learned, many other people have almost identical dishes on their tables for Thanksgiving. There are some people, however, that make very different dishes to celebrate the holiday.
Culture and traditions play a significant role in celebrating Thanksgiving, and it shows in what food different people make. For example, some families with Hispanic heritage eat tacos and beans to celebrate the holiday and proves that they have incorporated Thanksgiving into their culture. Culture doesn't always affect the way people eat on Thanksgiving, however. For instance, some people roast their turkey in an oven, whereas my family smokes our turkey. Other dishes, like ham, ribs, or even prime ribs get served on dinner tables on Thanksgiving. Since I have younger siblings in my family that are picky when it comes to food, my mom makes her famous Mac and cheese. Each family has its unique twist to their food, as some make pudding and others have an entirely gluten-free meal. Additionally, each family makes their food differently. With my family always busy and never together, making food for Thanksgiving is a whole family affair, and we can spend more time together. Our methods differ from other families where the parents or the eldest people make the dishes. These similarities and differences that food brings happen in many different places and even different times.
Traditionally, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. My family celebrates this way; it is how we always have. Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, my family smokes a turkey, bakes rolls, and feasts at our dining room table. Like others, we do this at our own home and don’t travel anywhere over the Thanksgiving break. Moreover, my family of six only invites one person to enjoy the day with us: My grandma. Keeping Thanksgiving small seems to be a common occurrence in many households, as it is simpler and more relaxing to have only a few people together. Traveling long distances also requires more preparation and less time to take a break from the busyness, which makes the celebration of Thanksgiving less pleasant. Many families aren’t fazed by this, as traveling and not celebrating Thanksgiving on its designated day are common.
Thanksgiving on the road is the option that some people choose nowadays, whether it is traditional or is more practical. Oftentimes, grandparents host family gatherings. Having a large feast differs from my family’s small, seven-person meal. Some people celebrate Thanksgiving while enjoying their last camping trip of the year and even do this with other campers. Other gatherings happen at hotels or resorts, where people can meet together at an easy location. These gatherings happen at locations away from their own home; some even occur at times other than Thanksgiving day. To work for people’s schedules or follow traditions, families sometimes celebrate Thanksgiving before or after the actual holiday. It is even celebrated multiple times in some households. The food, the location, and the time of celebrating Thanksgiving all derive from traditions, as do the activities used to celebrate the holiday.
Thanksgiving is a time for people to celebrate their blessings. Family is a massive blessing that many people have, and it is often celebrated on Thanksgiving. In my house, we start the day by preparing the food as a family and then gather together to eat the food. Afterward, playing board games and watching football games are necessities to celebrate the holiday. Once the football games are over, we always prepare for Christmas by placing decorations throughout the house, getting out the Santa Clause hats, and putting up the Christmas tree. These activities all include being together as a family, which is what makes our Thanksgiving celebration so similar to many others. Additionally, we follow some traditions common around the world, like praying to show our appreciation for our blessings. Our traditions and activities on Thanksgiving are similar to other families, but some people do even more, or even less, than us.
While my family, like others, celebrate together, some people don’t do anything special to celebrate Thanksgiving. Whether they don’t have a family to celebrate with or don’t have any traditions, they keep it simple and do nothing different. However, most families do something together, even if it is watching the television all day. Some families give gifts because they either have a birthday to celebrate or they are following a tradition. Secret Santa is one way families exchange presents. Other Christmas activities happen on Thanksgiving, like watching Christmas movies and listening to music. Many families tune in to watch the Macy's Day Parade as it helps kick off Thanksgiving day. These relaxing activities differ from my family because we still do plenty of work around the holiday. In the morning, my dad, brother, and I harvest corn, and we work on a variety of tasks around the farm throughout the day. Similarly, my mom and sister clean up around the house and then go Black Friday shopping the morning after Thanksgiving to purchase Christmas gifts. Overall, the traditions and activities that every family observes are very different yet very close to each other, and they are what shape how we celebrate Thanksgiving.
How is my family’s Thanksgiving different than others, yet similar at the same time? My family eats a turkey every year for Thanksgiving, whereas other families eat ham or even tacos. Some families similar to mine do prepare a turkey for their main dish. Furthermore, some of these families also celebrate the holiday at their home on Thanksgiving day, like my family. On the contrary, having Thanksgiving at a hotel, campground, or a relative's house at a time other than Thanksgiving day is how some people celebrate. All of these methods of celebrating Thanksgiving stem from traditions that families follow. Praying, eating, watching football, playing board games, and decorating for Christmas are all things that my family, and others, do together to celebrate Thanksgiving and their traditions. Conversely, some people give gifts to each other, watch either the Macy’s Day Parade or the Christmas movie, or do nothing. These methods of celebrating are different from my family that works over Thanksgiving break and goes Black Friday shopping. Because of the food, traveling, activities, and traditions that go with Thanksgiving, my family’s celebration of Thanksgiving is unique from other celebrations but is still similar in multiple aspects.
