Sitting across the table from the uncle you see twice a year.

    Your younger cousins who won’t stop following you around.

    Your distant aunt asking, “What are you gonna be when you get older?”

    The holiday of Thanksgiving has been around for more than 300 years, and over that time, the holiday itself has gradually changed. Its food, the people who celebrate it and the true meaning of the Turkey day has adapted with the years.       

    Holidays are typically founded in tradition. But now, younger generations are putting a twist on the centuries-old custom known as Thanksgiving. Deemed “Friendsgiving,” this new take on the holiday brings a more casual approach. Instead of emphasizing family, traditions and your twice-removed cousin-in-law, Friendsgiving allows its celebrators to enjoy a relaxed, informal holiday.    Younger generations may be quick toembrace the new, laid-back holiday.However, are we forgetting the roots of the traditional Thanksgiving?

The history of the holiday

    Thanksgiving was first introduced to us in 1621. The story we’ve all known since kindergarten includes 90 Wampanoag Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims who celebrated the first harvest in the New World.

     “When you’re looking at the timing of it, this is the time of harvest. People start to harvest their crops, and plan for the winter.” Brandon Swart said. “Naturally a lot of animals are born in the spring, grow up in the summer, and are hunted in the fall, like turkeys and other birds.”  

     But Thanksgiving wasn’t an official holiday until 1863 when President

Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it a federal holiday. A huge supporter of making Thanksgiving an official holiday in the 1800s was a women named Sarah Josepha Hale. At the age of 75 she lead a lobbying campaign to persuade President Abraham Lincoln to make Thanksgiving an annual holiday. She was also the creator of the famous nursery rhyme Mary Had A Little Lamb.  

    Over time, new ideas and cultural influences have changed the beloved holiday.

    “Its interesting how the concepts of Thanksgiving has evolved. I think the meaning is still the same. Even before the meaning was to celebrate the crops. I think it’s turned into, the idea of it, just to be thankful, thankful that we have a super market, thankful of our family. Its named perfectly, Thanksgiving because it’s time to give thanks “ Swart said.  

    In the beginning, turkey was only a part of the meal, not the main dish. Fast forward about 300 years, and the entire feast centers around the Thanksgiving turkey. We can all thank Sarah Josepha Hale for setting standards and goals for the contents of the popular meal. Inspiring many families on what they should feast upon in November, Hale was even given the name “the godmother of Thanksgiving” years after her death in the 1930s.

Hip holiday

    The day was used to celebrate the new harvest more than 400 years ago. Now the famous day in the fall is used to show gratitude and appreciation towards our loved ones. Most people consider more than just their family when showing appreciation. This 21st century trend might be the solution.

    Friendsgiving is all about the first part, friends. It also could potentially be a huge stress reliever. On average most families have as many as 10 dishes

prepared for the dinner. That could mean hours of cooking, cleaning and baking.

    Friendsgiving solves this time-consuming problem. Instead of three or four people making numerous dishes, your friends pitch in. Typically everyone brings their own dish.                        

    More and more NHS students over the years have been joining this new

celebration.

    The holidays are about getting together with family and friends, but sometimes, the friends side of the

holidays gets forgotten. Senior Jacob Carr is participating in Friendsgiving this year.

    The group of nearly 22 celebrated this new holiday for the first time last year. He described the gathering as a potluck, when everyone brought their own sides.

    Friendsgiving allows more freedom and is less hassle. It allows you to be with your friends for the special holiday

without completely ditching your

family. While Carr admits it’s more fun to partake in friendsgiving rather than the traditional family meal on November 24th, he feels Thanksgiving is important to share with family as well. After all, the day has been focused on family for hundreds of years.

      “We wanted to do something together for the holiday.” Carr said. “Because we consider ourselves family.”   

Friendsgiving is a fresh, new way to incorporate friends into typically family-only events. This exciting day is commonly held a couple days before or after Thanksgiving, not to mention it’s almost like a two part holiday, one with family and then one with friends.

   Being allowed to spend just as much time with your friends as you would your family on this important holiday is why you should get some good food and good friends on this turkey Thursday.