WOODBURY– As October came to a close and November began, new decorations were being put up. But for what holiday? Some people skip right to Christmas, while others actually enjoy the Thanksgiving season.
Thanksgiving is a highly underrated holiday with most people jumping right into All I Want for Christmas is You as soon as the calendar turns to November 1st. People tend to overlook Thanksgiving and don’t see its worth.
According to This Old House, a home improvement website, 70% of Americans will put holiday lights up in November or even earlier. This means that they completely skip over Thanksgiving, as do many Nonnewaug students such as freshman Declan Stankevich.
“I prefer Christmas because I can get gifts and spend more time with my family,” says Stankevich. “I would rather skip right to Christmas.”
Similarly, sophomore Gemma Hedrei, also prefers Christmas over Thanksgiving.
“I think Christmas is better because you still get to spend time with your family, and it’s a bigger holiday,” Hedrei says. “You have more decorations, more traditions, still great food, presents, Santa Claus, and a Christmas tree.”
Although the Christmas magic consumes most of the holiday season, some are still able to see the apparent value in Thanksgiving. Joshua Kornblut, member of the Nonnewaug science department, appreciates Thanksgiving for what it is.
“Thanksgiving is underrated. I love Thanksgiving,” says Kornblut. “I love the food, family, wearing my stretchy pants so I could eat my pounds 10 of turkey. It’s fantastic.”
Pew Research Center has found that 96% of Americans above the age of 65 celebrate Thanksgiving, a jarring contrast when compared to younger people that celebrate Thanksgiving and often overlook it.
The love for Thanksgiving shouldn’t stop at the older generations. Even though most adolescents prefer Christmas – the more popular holiday, freshman Gwen Murphy finds joy in the simple holiday — Thanksgiving.
“I get to see my family, and I like the aspect where you get to be thankful for something in your life,” says Murphy.
Despite the lack of popularity for Thanksgiving, the holiday still has a great meaning behind it.
Thanksgiving is where people get to spend time with family and friends without any pressure to give or receive. It’s just a time where you laugh, eat, and say thanks for everything that you have. Even though Christmas is a great holiday, Thanksgiving definitely needs more recognition for the simple ways it brings people together.
“I think people just view it as some day where you just eat food and don’t really care about it,” Nonnewaug freshman Reese Longoria explains about Thanksgiving. “People don’t understand the true meaning of coming together with your family and being thankful for everything in your life.”
This is an opinion piece written by Chief Advocate reporters Kailey Burgos and Sadie Nichols.
