Searcy (LP) Thanksgiving is one of the most important national festivals in the United States and Canada. While there are many regional and ethnic variations, this basic Thanksgiving menu has not changed much in the last 200 years, and the standard bill of fare isn’t much older than that.

Thanksgiving doesn’t have a long history. In the fall of 1621, the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians celebrate an autumn harvest feast that has become know as Thanksgiving in what is now Massachusetts. President Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday with his 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation. On Thanksgiving Day, a lot of people go back home or visit their relatives and have a happy Thanksgiving dinner with their families. The traditional foods include turkey, stuffing, gravy, sweet potatoes, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce. 91% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving Day. In addition, many people serve pie for dessert at the end of the meal. Popular pie flavors are pumpkin, pecan, sweet potato, and apple. Thanksgiving dinner gathered families together. Many families have different dinner recipes for Thanksgiving. Some families choose to serve vegetarian Thanksgiving dinners instead of a stuffed turkey and some people eat vegetarian turkey, which is made out of tofu. Others prefer to eat squash, salads, or other fruit and vegetable dishes. Different areas of the United States have different thanksgiving traditions, plus families have their traditional dishes that must be prepared. “ My family usually have  green beans with shallot crisps with bacon together. Turkey, mashed potato, stuffing and cranberry sauce are also the most common recipes. The cranberry sauce is usually homemade.” said Alyssa Toye, a 9th grade student at Cross Pointe Preparatory. People often cook the turkey in the oven. However, there are some different ways to cook a turkey. “ My mom likes to try new things. She fried the last year and mixed it with turkey gravy. It tastes a little different from baked turkey. It is more crispy.”said Heddi Haddix, a senior at Cross Pointe, “ We are going to try smoked turkey this year.”

This year’s Thanksgiving which is on Thursday, November 24 is almost upon us. Thanksgiving is truly a special day. It is a day of fond family memories and special dinners, it is also a day for giving thanks.