WOODBURY — Most people on Thanksgiving might gather around a table, turkey, stuffing, and lots of other dishes laid out. Most people would say Thanksgiving means something about food, football, or a small hint on pilgrims.

But is that really all Thanksgiving is about? 

“I mostly just think about the food and being with my family,” said Ella Ryan, a freshman at Nonnewaug. 

It does look like people have come to think about Thanksgiving being about food and family, so is that all we do on this holiday we’ve had since the mid-19th century? 

A day of Thanksgiving was officially proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln on Oct. 3, 1863, during the Civil War. People want to have a country that showed more unity, and thankfulness during such tense times as the war. 

So this means that Thanksgiving was originally supposed to be about celebrating the past, as it’s also modeled after the 1621 harvest between Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people. Not only about celebrating, though, but also about the blessings of the year that passed. 

“I think that [Thanksgiving] is less about actually what happened and more about just eating food and celebrating that way,” freshman Dominic Distefano said. 

Have people started to shy away from the idea that created a holiday meant to be about gratitude? It might just seem that over time the American-made holiday has slowly turned into people focusing on a roasted bird on a table over the Thanksgiving part of the famous day. 

Brooke Stokes, a freshman talks about the beginning of the Thanksgiving tradition.

“I think the first couple Thanksgivings and even like hundred Thanksgivings were probably about being thankful and thanking god or whoever you believe in for what’s on your table and who you’re with,” Stokes said. “ I think today it’s more about an excuse to have a family meal.”

Regardless of the many traditions celebrated among NHS students, one thing remains vital: the importance of giving thanks.