By Bernadette Negron- Taylor
OwlFeed Journalist

Huge feast, family get-togethers, and celebrations, it brings people to care for more. But what are you really celebrating?

Thanksgiving is known for celebrating what people are grateful for, but there is so much more on why we have this holiday.

“In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies,” according to history.com. At first, Thanksgiving was not celebrated at once on a certain day, but during the Civil War President Abraham Lincoln made it to where Thanksgiving was to be celebrated every year in November.

In the past, before a Thanksgiving dinner, someone of the middle-aged people of the family world retells the story of how the Original Thanksgiving Story and how the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians did the first Thanksgiving.

Getting in the kitchen is the biggest part of preparing for the huge feast for the whole family. “A traditional Thanksgiving dinner consists of roast turkey, turkey stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, dinner rolls, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie,” said tastesoflizzyt.com. There are other times when some families have different ideas of foods and like to bring in their own religion and culture to mix it in with the celebration.

When people celebrate Thanksgiving they believe everyone assumes that almost everyone takes part in the celebration. That is not that case at all, as there are many families who have certain beliefs and/or religion.

“My family doesn’t do Thanksgiving,” said Mariama Camara, a freshman at Agua Fria High School. “We moved here from Ghana, Africa, and we do not believe in all of the American cultures, but it’s not that we think that they are bad or anything. Things just work differently and I do not think my parents want to change all of our beliefs just because we move to the United States.”

Having big families can be a struggle when it comes to money. “Thanksgiving isn’t always easy when I have to work all week, but I make sure my kids are at least eating and having a good time with their loved ones,” said Sophia Shores, a mother of 6 children. “One thing I always tell my kids is that as long as you have your family for the holidays or anything else that’s all that matters.”

Thanksgiving has so much more to offer than just the turkey and pie. It is a time to realize what we have and how great it is to how people or things in our lives.