Thanksgiving During a Pandemic

Dahlia Olivo, Y1

Thanksgiving: let’s talk about it. Thanksgiving is a widely popular holiday that is celebrated by many Americans. This holiday originated as a celebration of the pilgrim’s first harvest in the New World. Nowadays, it is more of a day to give thanks for all life has to offer and, a day of reflection and gratitude for all that is good in the world. That being said, a major staple of every Thanksgiving is the dinner.

Around every holiday, there is some main source of stress. For Halloween, it’s costumes. For Christmas, it’s presents. For Thanksgiving, it's dinner. The dinner is the root of all the stress around this holiday. “How many people are we expecting?” “How much food are we cooking?” “Who’s cooking what?” “Who’s in charge of the pie?” These are essential questions one needs to ask when they are involved in arranging the Thanksgiving dinner.

However, things are changing this year. With the pandemic still around us, the government is asking all families to keep Thanksgiving small this year. That being said, I decided to go around and ask a few students and teachers about their thoughts on Thanksgiving this year:

What does your Thanksgiving typically look like (if you celebrate)?

“I used to host Thanksgiving at my house; my family cooked a sizable meal and we had some family and friends come over with their own dishes. However, in the past few years, various family situations resulted in different circumstances than from previous years.”- Judah Firestone-Morrill, 9th Grade

“Usually we eat apple or pumpkin pie, put up our tree, and watch movies (they don’t have to be holiday themed); we used to go out, but the pandemic makes that more difficult.” - Tapuwanashe Hightower, 10th Grade

“I love my Thanksgiving. My grandparents from both sides and my aunt and uncle and cousins come (and sometimes our family friends as well) so we always have a packed house. My cousins and I have a lot of traditions we've been doing since we were tiny like writing place cards with fortunes in them for everyone. We used to do performances for everyone and although that has died out I usually still play a song on the piano.” - Annie Morrison, Y1

“We wake up and run the 5 mile Turkey Trot in Prospect Park (which takes much longer than it should). After, we spend the rest of the day cooking SO much food that we then bring over to our “best-family friends’” house so we can eat all together!” - Eva Kellner, Y2

“As an adult, my Thanksgiving has meant one of two things: Flying home to celebrate with my parents, siblings, and their families, or staying home and having lots of friends over for a potluck.” - Dr. Rockenbach

“We love to keep Thanksgiving small. We'll usually celebrate just with my son and wife and I, cooking all day -- tofurkey, falafel, hummus, cranberries, Colombian chocolate, mashed potatoes, you know, everything you'd expect from a vegetarian family with Colombian-Syrian-Irish roots -- then we cap it off with a walk by the river and a good movie.” - Professor Garces-Kiley

What does your Thanksgiving look like this year now that there’s still a pandemic going around?

“Now that there’s a pandemic, my immediate family will cook a Thanksgiving meal together, which we will then eat.” - Judah Firestone-Morrill, 9th Grade

“I think this year our Thanksgiving is pretty much going to be the same: movies, putting up the tree, and Netflix.” - Tapuwanashe Hightower, 10th Grade

“Thanksgiving this year is just gonna be my immediate family and my grandma. We're planning on having a zoom all together to make it feel sort of normal, we're going to have a presentation with everyone's fortune and I'll probably still perform a piano piece too.” - Annie Morrison, Y1

“There will sadly be no Turkey Trot (which I can’t decide whether I’m happy about or sad about). But we will still cook together and eat with family over Zoom!” - Eva Kellner, Y2

“My husband and I are going to celebrate on our own. We will go hiking if the weather is ok, and try to make a festive meal at home.” - Dr. Rockenbach

“I think it'll be the same this year as other years.” - Professor Garces-Kiley

Has being required to have a smaller Thanksgiving this year affected your overall enjoyment of the holiday? If so, how?

“The restrictions of Thanksgiving celebrations this year have put a damper on the festivities for me because it’s been several years since I’ve celebrated the holiday in the way I used to, so knowing that it will be another year until that can happen is disappointing. Furthermore, I’ve spent so much time with my family recently (due to the pandemic), so spending even more time with only my immediate family in one sitting is even more of a let-down.” - Judah Firestone-Morrill, 9th Grade

“No- to be honest, the pandemic is nothing to be happy about, but I’m still very excited to get festive and spend time with my family.” - Tapuwanashe Hightower, 10th Grade

“It’s sad because it's not the same feeling at all, even though it's for the best.” - Annie Morrison, Y1

“Since we have somewhat of a Thanksgiving tradition, it will be a little weird doing something different. Obviously it’s unfortunate that this Thanksgiving won’t be “normal”, but it will definitely be a memorable one:) I think that because of technology, and most notably, Zoom, we will still be able to surround ourselves with family, which is always important.” - Eva Kellner, Y2

“If I'm honest, it's hard. My partner and I are both very close to our families, and we are missing them a lot. But we know that staying home is the best way to show our love right now. The next Thanksgiving when we can all be together will be epic.” - Dr. Rockenbach

“I’m cool with it. I like keeping it simple.” - Professor Garces-Kiley

Bonus question: What’s your go-to Thanksgiving dessert?

“Often, several people bring deserts to Thanksgiving; my family usually has pumpkin pie and pecan pie.” - Judah Firestone-Morrill, 9th Grade

“My go-to Thanksgiving dessert would be apple pie and/or pumpkin. Anything delicious really.” - Tapuwanashe Hightower, 10th Grade

“I'm a huge fan of my mom's pumpkin pie!” - Annie Morrison, Y1

“Chocolate-chess pie!” - Eva Kellner, Y2

“My mom's upside-down apple pecan pie.” - Dr. Rockenbach

“Hmmm....go to-Thanksgiving dessert is definitely apple pie. Homemade, of course.” - Professor Garces-Kiley

The final verdict seems to be that although people are pretty bummed out about a smaller Thanksgiving (understandably), they’re doing their best to keep a positive attitude about things. At the end of the day, it’s all about keeping everybody safe, happy, and healthy. Also, less people just means more pie for the rest of us. This Thanksgiving doesn’t sound too bad after all.