Thanksgiving Exposed: BBHHS Holiday Traditions

Thanksgiving is coming up, and students at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School all have unique traditions. Some families stay home, some travel to different states, while others focus on eating special foods. Since everyone has a different background, the holiday does not look the same for any two households. Every family seems to have a specific routine that they follow year after year. A few students shared what their families do every November to celebrate.

Food is a big part of the holiday, but it is not the same for everyone. Different households have very strong opinions about what belongs on the dinner table. For example, freshman Julian Barcon said his family cooks their turkey in peanut oil because it tastes the best. He also mentioned that mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce are huge staples on his plate every year.

Other students look forward to classic family recipes made by their relatives. Freshman Oliver Lazlo said he goes to his aunt’s house because she makes her famous stuffing that he really likes.

Other families have more unique food traditions. For example, sophomore Grey Hileman explained that her family builds gingerbread houses on Thanksgiving Day. Also, her grandmother sets out a turkey made out of butter and they always cut the head off the butter turkey before eating.

Freshman Thaison Nguyen shared that his family skips the traditional menu completely. Instead of eating turkey, his family eats chicken, mashed potatoes, and lamb chops. These alternative meal choices show that students do not all eat the same classic dinner to celebrate the holiday.

Traveling and playing sports are also big traditions for the break. Some students use the days off from class to leave Ohio completely. Both Barcon and sophomore Thomas Metyk travel to North Carolina every year to stay at a beach house with their cousins and eat dinner there, while sophomore Lily Jatsek said her family goes to Florida to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade.

For physical activities, sophomore Asher Gourlie wakes up early to run a local turkey trot 5k in the morning. Other families prefer playing sports together at home. Junior Logan Sidaway said his family always goes outside to play a big football game against each other and they also spend a lot of time watching football games on television. Sophomore Eva Carson mentioned that her family used to have a big traditional soccer game every single Thanksgiving Day, though that tradition has started to die out over the years.

Finally, some students have traditions that start looking forward to other holidays like Christmas or focus on family customs. Sophomore Sophie Hartmann explained that after eating dinner, her family immediately puts up and decorates their Christmas tree and their Christmas stockings. In a completely different cultural tradition, freshman Monica Xiang shared that the elders in her family give money to the grandchildren, but the younger kids have to bow to the elders three times first to receive it.

Whether families are running races, traveling south, or cutting the head off a butter turkey, there are many different ways students at Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School celebrate their Thanksgiving. It shows that no matter what the tradition is, the holiday is mostly about spending time with family.

Thanksgiving Exposed: BBHHS Holiday Traditions

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