Have you ever made a turkey using Chat GPT or won a lottery ticket at your family’s annual euchre contest?
These may seem like unconventional Thanksgiving traditions but are important aspects of celebrating the holiday for some people at FHC.
Junior Juniper “Junie” Zetocha has a very unique Thanksgiving tradition. Every year, her grandpa creates a new type of turkey, ranging from paprika and vegetable oil to a turkey stuffed with a rotisserie chicken.
“My grandpa cooks a different turkey every year,” Junie said. “He tries out new recipes. This year he’s making one from AI. Some years, it’s really bad. Last year, he made one, and it was a terrible mix of spices, and it was really dry. But, he loved it. So honestly, that’s all that matters. He’s senile now, so he’s allowed to like weird things.”
Even though the turkeys that Junie’s grandpa makes might not always be the best, the important thing is the time she is able to spend with him. She doesn’t get to see her grandpa every day, so she cherishes the moments she has with him.
Similarly to Junie, Junior Logan Tiggleman also participates in an uncommon tradition regarding food for Thanksgiving. He eats all of the regular foods but also eats a layered Jell-O dessert.
“We eat the usual Thanksgiving foods, nothing special,” Logan said. “The only thing we eat that may be different is a layered Jell-O dessert with many different flavors.”
Logan’s family enjoys a simple yet comforting Thanksgiving meal, complete with a distinct layered Jell-O dessert; Natalie Belsito, a teacher at FHC, and her family introduce a whole new layer of traditions.
Belsito does all of the regular Thanksgiving things, but a tradition her family started a few years ago involves an euchre contest with a lottery ticket as the prize. It is quite an intense night that consists of 20-plus family members and up to 80 hands of euchre.
“You’ll end up playing about like 80 hands of euchre by the end of the night,” Belsito said. “It’s all independent scoring so you’ll get to verse a lot of different members of the family. You get to interact with a lot of different members of the family and then at the end, [and] you win a lottery ticket depending on what place you come in.”
Belsito has been playing euchre since she was 14, so she has become pretty good over the years; last year she ended up finishing in second place. She especially loves this family tradition because it allows her to interact with all of her family members, and have one–on–one time with them.
Thanksgiving is such an important holiday because it allows families to get together and spend some quality time with each other. However, families are not the only ones getting closer because of Thanksgiving. Junior Dia Sriram gets together with some of her family friends, and she is able to have bonding time with them because of the holiday.
“We have some family friends that we see every year,” Dia said. “It’s just a fun family and family friend hangout. And we don’t really get to each other like throughout the year except for maybe Christmas time and Thanksgiving. So it’s just fun to catch up.”
Similarly to Dia, sophomore Chloe Cox’s family stays more traditional when it comes to Thanksgiving traditions. They both enjoy the time they get to spend with those whom they don’t get to see often. Chloe typically has a gathering with her extended family where she is able to discuss what is going on in her life and get to hear what is happening in her family’s lives.
“My extended family and I get together and catch up on what’s going on in our lives and share a good meal together,” Chloe said. “Typically we all make something and bring it; we make the mashed potatoes and turkey and my grandma brings her famous Lima bean casserole and cheesy potatoes. We get a pumpkin pie—my personal favorite— and watch the Lions game as well throughout the course of the meal.”
Thanksgiving is very important to Dia, Logan, Chloe, Junie, and Belsito because of the people they get to spend time with. It is an amazing opportunity to reconnect with family and friends they are not able to see often. Not only do they get to spend time with their loved ones, but they are also able to eat a variety of delectable foods.
“Thanksgiving is a time for me to reconnect with family and simply focus on enjoying a hearty meal with the company of each other,” Chloe said. “It’s one of my favorite holidays because I love all the different festive food we get to eat. Whether I’m with friends or family that year, Thanksgiving is always a time to just count our blessings and be thankful for each other.”
