Henry VanHoorhris

The basics to all Thanksgivings: pies, parades and pardons. Thanksgiving is one of the only holidays where families from across the nation can take time to eat and say thanks. With each Thanksgiving table, comes a different set of family traditions. Junior Max Holler, senior Suzie Evans and senior Valarie Kureya all have unique traditions of celebrating the holiday.

Every year, Max Holler celebrates Thanksgiving with football and family.

“Some of our family’s yearly traditions are going to The Turkey Bowl and then going to my grandma’s house and eating together,” Holler said. “My family and I play a big football game at six in the morning in Baldwin Park called the Turkey Bowl. Personally, my favorite part of the tradition is playing in the Turkey Bowl with my family and talking about the game over dinner.”

Later in the day, he sits down along with five other families of relatives to eat dinner and share past stories that they all can laugh about.

“This Thanksgiving I will be keeping the tradition with my family,” Holler said.

“Usually, around three to five families get together for Thanksgiving,” Evans said. “We usually go around the table and say what we are thankful for, talk about football and entertain my grandma.”

The highlight of Evans’ day is eating with all her family members over a big meal.

“Just eating altogether is my favorite thing because it’s fun being with everyone,” Evans said. “There is always an overwhelming amount of love in the room. One of the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner is probably eating the pumpkin pie with whipped cream.”

Other family traditions include a football game, which they had to stop recently.

“We used to do a football game every year, but it got out of hand one year, so we had to stop,” Evans said. “The games were getting too rough and there were multiple injuries.”

This Thanksgiving, Evans will be eating with her dad’s side of the family, which she says “is a lot of loud people in one room.”

Senior Valerie Kureya doesn’t celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday like the rest of Americans since she is from England. However, she has created her traditions over the holiday with her family.

“Each year I either travel or stay at home,” Kureya said. “We treat Thanksgiving like any other day. My family usually watches movies with each other.”

Although she does not participate in Thanksgiving, Kureya enjoys the other parts of the holiday, such as the Black Friday sales.

“My favorite part of the holiday season are all the sales,” Kureya said.

Although people celebrate Thanksgiving differently, the holiday is always a time for families to get together and enjoy their traditions.