By Ethan Partridge | Writer
November 3, 2015
Thanksgiving literally has it’s meaning embedded into it’s title, a day to give thanks for what we have and appreciate those around us. Thanksgiving is a greatly personal and family-oriented holiday for all to simply gather together and enjoy a great meal.
The original purpose of Thanksgiving was a celebration of the success of the pilgrims’ first harvest because they were so overjoyed that the harvest had not failed and they were able to survive that they held a three day celebration in their own honor.
Nowadays, families hardly ever give thanks, certainly not for the success of a bountiful harvest, so why is the holiday still so popular?
“People don’t really give thanks on Thanksgiving,” said sophomore Jack Ridsdale. “They’ve forgotten that that is what it’s about.”
Junior Bridget Cole held similar beliefs, “Families always love to get together on Thanksgiving and have big meals, but they lose sight of the idea of actually giving thanks.”
“People get together on Thanksgiving simply to get together,” said Evan Van Kampen, a sophomore. “To us that’s the meaning of the holiday, and that’s a great reason to celebrate.”
Junior David Velazquez said, “Me personally, I celebrate the holiday just to be with my family. All of us are off doing other things so often that it’s good for us to all come together for a little bit and be with each other.”
The original idea behind Thanksgiving was to give thanks for what the people were able to receive, and to appreciate that they were happy. Now, we find reasons to be happy all the time, but not often do we find moments or occasions where we can all be together, whether due to other obligations or there simply not being time. The reason we still celebrate Thanksgiving is not to give thanks for the things we have, but not to give thanks for the time we have together.
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