The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.
by Avah Fetzer
Assistant Editor-In-Chief
As the holiday season progresses, thoughts of the delicious food prepared on these special days begin. Thanksgiving specifically is a time for giving thanks to those around you, however, is more commonly known as being a “food day” by many around the world today. Traditional thanksgiving foods have been the same since the early 1600s, during the first thanksgiving meal with the pilgrims (which every elementary school student learns about at some point). This proposes a question for Bradley staff and students; Are traditional thanksgiving foods still relevant today? Or do they need to be updated?
Thanksgiving is often recognized as a symbol of tradition. The same foods, games, people, etc. are often things people like English teacher Ms. Dyer, look forward to every year. She says she’s “fine with the thanksgiving food being the thanksgiving food” because it’s only eaten once a year. She mentions some foods she enjoys such as mashed potatoes and foods that aren’t her favorite, such as the turkey. She argues that while these foods create strong opinions, she wouldn’t want to change anything because “you have it one time [per year]” and “it symbolizes the holiday” (Dyer). She enjoys the predictability of the traditional foods correlated with the holiday but would be understanding if other people wanted to switch up their thanksgiving foods.
Some students feel similarly to Dyer such as Chloe Sayre (11) and Jennie Craddock (11), as they also think the foods don’t need to be updated. Sayre explains that she thinks this because, “The holidays are about traditions and I think that changing them would take away from focusing on that tradition,” (Sayre). Many people feel tradition is very important to them and their family. Agreeing with the tradition aspect being kept, Craddock also mentions the significance of the tradition with thanksgiving specifically. She says traditional thanksgiving foods are what “sets thanksgiving apart from other holidays” and that “food is such a big part of the holiday for many people”. Therefore, she thinks that “we should keep the tradition of the foods most people think of,” when it comes to Thanksgiving. That way, thanksgiving still has the same feeling as it does in previous years, rather than feeling unrecognizable.
Some families have traditional food for thanksgiving and non-traditional food for other holidays such as art teacher, Mrs. Lattig. Lattig explains that her family normally makes traditional foods for Thanksgiving because, “We normally spend it with my husband’s parents and my mother-in-law is an amazing cook." However, their family typically spends Christmas eating Mexican foods such as tacos and fajitas. She explains this is because they spend Christmas with just their immediate family and they want to “spend the day playing with all the new Christmas toys and games." Having one traditional holiday and one non-traditional holiday in regards to food is a good way to change things up!
Some students have a variety of opinions regarding traditional thanksgiving foods. One of these students being sophomore Rutbah Kamal. Kamal agrees that traditional thanksgiving food is so good and argues “why change what’s so good”. However, she would love to see more of a variety in pastas. Kamal finalizes, “Like yeah mac and cheese is bomb but what about chicken alfredo?” A variety of foods is nice, but without changing the entire tradition of the holiday.
Furthermore, Bradley staff and students have all come to the agreement that traditional Thanksgiving foods are here to stay because of how good they are, but it’s okay changing it up every once in a while. Adding a few new items to your family’s tradition of a meal or changing the tradition for another holiday are all acceptable forms of celebrating according to the staff and students at Bradley. However you wish to celebrate this holiday resembling thankfulness, The Jaguar Times wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!