As the days get cooler, pumpkin patches start appearing, and leaves on the trees start to change to colors, you already know Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Thanksgiving is a holiday favored by many students because of the time spent with family and friends, expressions of gratitude, and the variety of delicious foods. Many people around the world celebrate this day differently because of their unique cultures, which makes Thanksgiving so diverse. Let’s hear about how students at PPCHS celebrate their Thanksgiving!

“My favorite way to celebrate Thanksgiving is when my family and I would go to my Tia Blanca’s house and she would cook for my primary family, and my other family would come and gather. My favorite dish to eat on Thanksgiving is probably green bean casserole with fried onions on top, or mashed potatoes with gravy is always so good! We would usually go to my Tia Blanca’s house when I was younger, but a bunch of my family moved to New York, so now we just have it at my home! There aren’t any specific family traditions that are passed down or anything like that, but of course, praying before we eat and saving the bread as the last thing we eat!” –Julia Elena, Sophomore

“So Thanksgiving to my family and I is a way of gathering our family friends over to our house to enjoy a meal and their time. We want them to feel comfortable and welcomed. Since we don’t have any traditions that were brought down, we wear cultural clothes to add to the value of celebrating Thanksgiving. It isn’t just about giving thanks and praises, it’s also about gratitude. We have to remind ourselves of what others don’t have and appreciate the fact that we do have things. There isn’t really a special dish that we make on Thanksgiving. We normally go for the typical dishes like stuffing gravy, potatoes, chicken, and turkey. ” –Hibba Waqar, Senior

“My favorite way to celebrate Thanksgiving with my friends and family is to have a big dinner with everyone to enjoy. My favorite dish that I eat on Thanksgiving day is mac and cheese. I typically spend it by having a large dinner with all my friends and family, and we don’t really have any special traditions.” –Daniel Salman, Sophomore 

“My favorite way to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends is by making our favorite foods, listening to holiday music, and combining Thanksgiving and Christmas traditions. I like this corn casserole that we make, like cornbread and corn pudding. I love the stuffed turkey and stuffing is probably my favorite Thanksgiving meal. We typically spend the day making and cooking food and then we’ll watch Christmas movies after we transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas.” –Ms. Tate, History Department

“My favorite way to celebrate is to gather by the table, have a feast and just enjoy the day with each other. My favorite dish to eat is a corn casserole because it always hits the spot. As a tradition, every Thanksgiving, my family cooks in the morning, and we make our way to my aunt’s house. We then feast and spend the rest of the day playing board games and doing karaoke, my personal favorite. We don’t have any specific traditions, but like most people, we do go around the table and say what we are thankful for.” -Jennah Pierre, Sophomore

 “My favorite way to celebrate Thanksgiving with my friends or family is to eat a big dinner and tell each other what we are thankful for. My favorite dish that I eat on Thanksgiving is mashed potatoes. My family drives to my grandparents’ house, and we all make and bring food, share what we are thankful for, and lastly, do some karaoke. A special tradition we have is we give everyone a slip of paper to write down what they are thankful for. Then we decorate some pumpkins with paper and our names in colorful stickers. Finally, we read each other’s cards that we made.” -London Ferguson, Freshman

“My favorite way to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and friends is having them all together and eating delicious food. My favorite dish to eat on Thanksgiving is my grandma’s pumpkin spice flan. I typically spend my Thanksgiving at my house with my friends and family, and we all have dinner together. One tradition we do every year on Thanksgiving is we all pray as a family before eating our meal and give thanks for the people in our lives and for the privileges we have, and we pray for those in need.” -Kaitlyn Oramas, Sophomore