A traditional Thanksgiving is one spent watching football with family and thinking about all that one has to be thankful for, stuffing oneself, and falling asleep. The students of North Hunterdon show that every family has its own unique twist on this American holiday.
Senior Phoebe Wiant spends her Thanksgiving with her family, many of whom traveled a long way to get to her house. She had relatives come from New York, Virginia, Massachusetts, Canada, and France.
“It’s the only holiday when we all come together,” Wiant said. “I only get to see my family from France and Canada once a year. I love to catch up with them and see how everything is going across the sea.”
The Wiant family tries to combine the various cultures over a four day span. Throughout the weekend, the family has its traditional Thanksgiving meal, but then has crepes, croissants, pizza all cooked by the resident of that country. “Most families aren’t as spread out as mine, but that’s okay, because when we get together, there’s always a wide variety of food, and an even wider variety of stories,” said Wiant.
Junior Evan Rys had what is considered a typical Thanksgiving meal. His mother, his father, his ten cousins, his three aunts, his three uncles, and his two grandparents gathered at a relative’s home in Pennsylvania, where they watched football, ate their meal, and caught up with each other.
But Rys has spent many Thanksgivings without his extended family. “In sixteen years, I’ve lived in Wisconsin, England, Switzerland, and New Jersey,” said Rys. “When I was in Europe, there was no Thanksgiving. I didn’t really care that much at first, but then I really started to miss it. Those little traditions of saying grace with my family, stuffing ourselves, and then all falling asleep may not seem very important, but when your aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents are an ocean away, those memories will mean the world to you.”
Latin teacher, Mrs. Amy Mullay, said, “Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays – it has the three Fs – Family, Food, and Football.” The actual day, the third Thursday in November, doesn’t mean much to her, though. “Some years, my brother has another obligation to go to his in-law’s house, so we do it on Saturday or Sunday. For us, it’s everyone coming together that’s important – not which day that weekend it is.”
Mullay hosts the dinner at her house and she “loves to do the cooking and do a traditional meal with all the trimmings and desserts.” When all of the food is ready, they all say something that they are thankful for, “It’s cute, and humbling sometimes, to hear what the little ones have to say. The kids range in age from 5-11, so it’s fun to hear their thoughts,” said Mullay. The last thing the family does is welcome in the holiday season by finding, putting up, and decorating their Christmas tree. This year, however, Mullay sprained her ankle three days before the feast. She said, “the ankle didn’t stop me from doing anything that I don’t normally do. I had a family to feed and I pushed through the pain to enjoy my turkey.”
For the Menezes family, “Thanksgiving has always been a holiday for the immediate family,” said junior Keely Menezes. But this year, Menezes had a slightly different holiday experience. Menezes said, “With my two brothers in Chicago and San Francisco, it would have been too difficult to get everyone together.”
Menezes and her parents planned to have a day filled with adventures at Point Pleasant Beach, but then, a winter storm struck New Jersey. While not severe enough in Hunterdon County to do any damage, “the snow did put a damper on our beach plans,” said Menezes.
Instead, the family spent the day together, at home. Menezes said that this unexpected turn of events turned out to be “amazing. It was so nice to have a quiet day with my mom and dad sledding, eating, and reflecting on all of the amazing things that I have to be thankful for.”
Although Thanksgiving has come and gone and the leftovers slowly make their way out of our fridges, the spirit remains. Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season, and as we all know, it also marks the beginning of the gifting season. So, perhaps it’s appropriate that we all begin the holidays, a time for giving and receiving gifts, being thankful for all that is in our lives.