As Thanksgiving is approaching, it is important to remember the true meaning of this holiday. Thanksgiving is a day that brings families together to express who and what they are thankful for in their lives and why they are thankful. It is a day where some people overlook that meaning and only focus upon the food that is served. While people do enjoy all the home cooked meals that are made on Thanksgiving, it is important to still give thanks and to enjoy being surrounded by family and friends.
Ronda Gullion, a teacher in the special education department at Warren Central High School believes that it is important for families to celebrate Thanksgiving because now people have become even busier and that can make it difficult to see loved ones. People have become even busier because of people losing their jobs due to the government shutting down and having to find new jobs to sustain themselves and their families.
“People are so busy nowadays which makes it hard for everyone to get together,” Gullion said. “You are never guaranteed to see your loved ones.”
Gullion’s favorite part of Thanksgiving is to cook for her family, to make all the traditional recipes her mom made for her when she was a kid. Additionally she loves to prepare the decorations and get the house ready for when people come over. Tradition also plays a big factor for the holiday, different families have different traditions which also makes the holiday special.
“When I was younger, we used to go around the table and say what we were thankful for, that was kind of like our little tradition.” Gullion said.
To most people Thanksgiving is about family, fellowship and food. To enjoy the company of family without having the distractions of work and life. It is a time for people to connect with the family members they have not seen for a while and to form a stronger connection with the family they see every day. Jennifer Holman, a history teacher and
the head of the history department at Warren Central believes that Thanksgiving is a time to slow down and enjoy each other's company without day to day distractions.
"I do believe that some people forget the "true" meaning of Thanksgiving because we get so caught up in our day to day lives and it's easy to focus on the logistics of the holiday.” Holman said.