Pentucket Thanksgiving
Almost 400 years ago, the Pilgrims began the lasting American tradition of Thanksgiving. Whether it is traveling to Plymouth Plantation to experience a reenactment of the First Thanksgiving or simply gathering friends and family over for turkey dinner, students at Pentucket share a variety of holiday customs.
While most have typical Thanksgiving day traditions, such as Ms. Costello who makes a homemade pie every year, others, such as Senior Ben Quinn, opt for feasting at the Cheesecake Factory.
Why would someone give up the delicious gravy and stuffing? “My grandmother doesn’t like to cook,” said Quinn, who in addition to playing in the annual football game against Triton, travels to Long Island, NY for the holiday. “And you know, cheesecake,” he added.
While most students will be munching on delectable apple and pumpkin pies over the four-day break, Quinn is excited to get his yearly dose of Italian delicacy. “Don’t add fruit syrup to my [goshdarn] cheesecake. I’ll send it back,” said Quinn who is very particular about enjoying his annual slice of Original Cheesecake each Thanksgiving.
In addition to Quinn, Senior Nate Hey also celebrates Thanksgiving in a unique manner. “I have sad Thanksgiving traditions,” he said of his annual trip to his Aunt and Uncle’s for dinner.
“[They] try to be really artsy and make a bunch of weird food. It’s depressing,” he said. “Like they put celery in mashed potatoes. Who wants that?”
Senior Harrison Schwartz has more typical holiday traditions with the exception of once having a liver dish as part of his Thanksgiving feast. “My family usually gets together at one house,” said Schwartz whose mentions that his Thanksgiving traditions include “mostly normal stuff, but it’s still interesting because my family is so unusual.”
In contrast, senior Jen Hauss said, “I don’t do Thanksgiving. I go straight to Best Buy.”
I don’t do Thanksgiving. I go straight to Best Buy.”
— Senior, Jen Hauss
With Black Friday sales beginning earlier and earlier, bargain shoppers, like Hauss, must sacrifice Thanksgiving traditions in order to snag the best sales. “I bring my turkey with me,” said Hauss who gets in line early Thursday night to find the best sales on electronic products.
However, many Sachems, like Miss Costello, are very particular about consistency with holiday traditions and refuse to stray from what is expected. “I’m eating the exact same thing as when I was five years old,” said Miss Costello of this year’s planned feast. “You can’t break tradition.”
Seth Malonson • Dec 8, 2015 at 12:08 am
I personally don’t like the way black friday has crept its way into Thanksgiving day. I always love seeing my family for one day, and I don’t want that to be ruined by a rush to all the big stores. My Thanksgiving is filled with good food and great times with family, and I wouldn’t have it another way.
Taylor D • Dec 7, 2015 at 9:04 pm
Very interesting hearing everyone’s thanksgiving traditions.
Jackie larivee • Dec 7, 2015 at 11:39 am
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays! It’s great to have traditions but it’s also good to try new things too! Nice article!
Natasha • Dec 7, 2015 at 11:06 am
This is soo true, my family also has weird traditions, there is always a huge “African party” Friday night and hundreds of people and a bunch of different food and dishes, as if people didn’t eat enough the day before!
Colleen J • Dec 6, 2015 at 10:11 pm
I really enjoyed reading this article because getting to see all the differnet traditions people have for thanksgiving at our school is really interesting . I know for me it is the same thing every year , but I liked hearing what others do for their holidays!
Emma Rice • Dec 6, 2015 at 9:05 pm
Great article, thanksgiving time at Pentucket is the best time of year!
Makenna Comeau • Dec 6, 2015 at 6:27 pm
The traditions go on and on! It’s neat to hear how others celebrate the holidays but celery in mashed potatoes..? That’s a new one.
Noah Roche • Dec 5, 2015 at 8:04 pm
Great article Brielle. It is interesting to see the diversity in everyones traditions and how everyone chooses to spend this holiday. Hope everyone had a great one and I especially love the picture to go along with it.
Maxx Robinson • Dec 2, 2015 at 8:51 pm
It’s so nice to hear about the traditions of others. Everyone has some sort of Thanksgiving tradition that makes the holiday special.
Kristin Sullivan • Dec 2, 2015 at 7:40 pm
I really liked this article! It is interesting to see how people celebrate in unique ways since I just have the traditional family dinner.
Sterling Seymour • Dec 2, 2015 at 7:21 pm
Hi Brielle, this was a great article! I liked how you talked to many different Pentucket students and teachers about their plans or traditions. It is cool to see how such an iconic holiday can be celebrated in many diverse ways! It goes to show that in our world today some people stick to their traditions and others try something new.
Sarah Tripp • Dec 2, 2015 at 5:14 pm
Nice article! It is interesting to learn about how diverse others’ holiday’s are. However, it is always nice to have those simple traditions to fall back onto. It gives one something to look forward to each time the holiday comes around.
Nicole Stolarski • Dec 2, 2015 at 3:09 pm
It was really cool seeing all of the different ways that people celebrate Thanksgiving. I personally would never think of all the different festive things that people do to celebrate.
Marisa Labadini • Dec 2, 2015 at 1:52 pm
Even on the most basic of holidays everyone still seems to have unique traditions.
Amanda smith • Dec 2, 2015 at 1:07 pm
This was a really good article! It was interesting hearing the different traditions people do for Thanksgiving. I do the same thing every year with my family and have a regular Thanksgiving dinner.
Grace Madden • Dec 2, 2015 at 1:00 pm
interesting to hear how many different ways families can enjoy this holiday together
Ben Bouchard • Dec 2, 2015 at 11:01 am
It is nice to see all of the different ways people celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday is truly unique and is one of my favorite times of the year because I get to see my extended family.
Dan Richmond • Dec 1, 2015 at 6:33 pm
I like the different opinions, also I agree and think mashed potatoes are sacred and should not be touched
Meghan Gallagher • Dec 1, 2015 at 6:14 pm
Great article! It was really interesting learning about all the different Thanksgiving traditions. I usually have the classic Thanksgiving dinner, but now I know how many people do different things to celebrate the holiday. Great job!
Madison Carney • Dec 1, 2015 at 4:57 pm
Great article Brielle. My family always has the same thanksgiving turkey and potatoes. I found it weird when last week I heard someone say they eat mac and cheese for thanksgiving. I guess every family has a different tradition. Whether it is the regular turkey or mac and cheese.
Erica Burton • Dec 1, 2015 at 3:52 pm
Great article! This was informative and interesting to see the different traditions people have in our school.
Simon Davis • Dec 1, 2015 at 3:43 pm
I love it! So crazy all these seemingly weird traditions people have. It shed light on Thanksgiving traditions that I didn’t even know existed! Who knew cheesecake was a big deal? Not me Haha. I love my traditions but it was cool to hear about other people’s.
Jimmy Cleary • Dec 1, 2015 at 2:00 pm
Thanksgiving is a pretty sweet holiday dude
Elizabeth Inger • Nov 30, 2015 at 9:12 pm
Awesome article Brielle! I love hearing about other people’s Thanksgiving traditions! I enjoy going to the football game in the morning- it is great to see friends who have graduated and watch Pentucket win! My family typically all gets together in the afternoon to eat mostly traditional Thanksgiving foods, plus Italian classics like antipasto and penne with a special family sauce. I didn’t realize how many people have unique traditions!
Mackenzie Salt • Nov 30, 2015 at 4:40 pm
really good article and amusing too!
Jessica Kuznicki • Nov 30, 2015 at 3:37 pm
Great article Brielle! You did a good job showing the differences in everyone’s Thanksgiving. I agree with Ms. Costello. “You can’t break tradition!”