As the calendar flips and the fourth Thursday of November comes around again, American families across the nation sit down together and partake in a hearty Thanksgiving meal. Thanksgiving dates back to around 1600 when the Pilgrims and Indians joined together in a feast after a good harvest and before a bitter winter. The Pilgrims imported their traditions from Europe, where thanksgiving feasts were common.

George Washington declared Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1789, and all states began celebrating it when Abraham Lincoln issued his Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1863. Ever since then, people have taken their variation on a Thanksgiving feast, and said thanks for what they are grateful for. Some look at Thanksgiving as a way for the family to come together and eat a meal.

“All my family comes together and my mom cooks chicken, turkey, and sweet potato pie with marshmallows on top,” freshman Anique Jean Joseph said.

Others catch up with their family and reminisce on the past year.

“For me, my family comes together and we all share a meal. We make fried turkey, baked turkey, and other foods including candied yams”, sophomore Kasandra Arce said. “We all sit together at the table and we talk about the past year and all of the memories we shared together.”

Another country celebrates Thanksgiving, however. Canada celebrates Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October every year.  Several American traditions, like eating a turkey, have been incorporated into Canadian Thanksgiving feasts, when some Americans began to flee from the American Revolution and sought refuge in Canada.

Whether in Canada or in America, Thanksgiving is a time for people to give thanks for what they have been given and eat a delicious meal.