As the fourth Thursday in November approaches, Thanksgiving celebrations with food, family, and friends is on the minds of many. Celebrated since 1621, people give thanks for their blessings on this November Holiday.

Native Americans and the English feasted together for three days on the first Thanksgiving, enjoying deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat. The traditional thanksgiving meal that many Americans indulge in every year is far from the first Thanksgiving feast, because most of the dishes were not available at that time.

As the modern Thanksgiving meal started to form people began to associate Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry, and stuffing with the celebration. Many people look forward to family traditions every year along with their Turkey dinner.

Erin Gilchrist, junior, describes how her family comes home for the holidays as they enjoy Thanksgiving together.

“My brothers come home from college and we all hang out,” said Gilchrist. “We have great aunts and uncles and grandparents come over.”

The holiday season is also a time for families to travel.

“We go to Arizona and we spend thanksgiving with my grandpa and grandma and then we have a scavenger hunt in the mall,” said senior, Kendall Povilaitis.

Along with family traditions, the traditional Thanksgiving meal is something many people are excited for as the month of November advances.

“We have turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, just the traditional,” said Povilaitis when describing her family’s Thanksgiving meal.

Other families enjoy a combination of the classic Turkey dinner and unique dishes. Gilchrist said she enjoys “Turkey and stuffing and the rest of it is all Italian” such as “Pasta, lasagna, and stuffed shells”.

“My mom’s family does traditional and my dad’s family does Swedish,” said senior Meghan Platt who says she absolutely prefers the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

This year at Faith international advocate, Mrs. Gunzelman is organizing a Thanksgiving lunch on November 20 for approximately 20 International students, who are involved in the International Student Association.

“The students will be experiencing a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at school during High School lunch,” said Mrs. Gunzelman.

Faculty and staff have been generous and supportive by signing up to bring dishes for the students to enjoy. Every student is valued at Faith Lutheran and this is one way to show our appreciation to these students.