Leesville Thanksgiving Traditions

The word, “Thanksgiving” generates a variety of mental images: pilgrims, Squanto, turkey, maize…the list is different for everyone.   According to many Leesville students though, the most important factors of the holiday are not the stereotypical aspects, but the many traditions individual families share.

Alissa Locke, senior, said, “Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love getting together with my family and preparing a meal together.  It really helps me and my mom bond.”

Getting together with relatives, playing football in the front yard, and bumming it out on the couch after the big meal are all typical activities of Leesville students and their families.

“My favorite part of Thanksgiving is definitely eating,” said Brandon Baker, sophomore.

Despite the regularity of coined Thanksgiving foods like pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes, some students dine on more unique cuisine.

Larry Han, sophomore, and his family eat duck for Thanksgiving.  “It’s delicious!” Han said.

The food is not the only noteworthy part of Thanksgiving though. When differing family members are brought together after long periods apart, “interesting” situations often follow.

“One year at Thanksgiving my grandma bought a Christmas tree really early, and decorated it with all her favorite ornaments,” said Mackenzie Robinson, freshman.  “My brother and I were really excited to see all our family after so long, so we started chasing each other around the room.  I accidently bumped into the Christmas tree and broke all the ornaments.  It’s not the typical Thanksgiving story, but I still felt really bad.”

Clara Hicks, senior, recalls playing outside with her friends after her family had finished eating.  “One year, a few friends from my court and I played Harry Potter in our cul-de-sac.  We used sticks as wands and shouted out fake spells, like ‘Gluteus Maximus!’”

“For me,” Hicks said, “weird traditions are the most important part of Thanksgiving.  The things you’ll remember most are the ones that are the quirkiest.  Finding a toe in my soup wouldn’t ruin my Thanksgiving, it’d just make a great story to tell my grandchildren some day.”

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