By Ksena Spencer

As Halloween comes to an end and people start to get ready for Christmas, Thanksgiving sets the holiday spirit to snowball into Christmas.  

Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrated by giving thanks to loved ones, opportunities, the year’s achievements and taking time to appreciate the good things in life.

“I am thankful that I am in generally good health, and that I have a fantastic wife and son,” math teacher Mr. Al Toret said. “I am also thankful that I am able to have a good outlook on life and that I still smile more than I do frown on most days.”

The Turkey Trot is a 5k run and walk held every Thanksgiving Day for the last 30 years in downtown Greensburg. This is a good way for the community to get together and do something that anyone can participate in.

History teacher Ms. Lucy Iapalucci said that her family starts their Thanksgiving Day by participating in the Turkey Trot followed by breakfast and football.

Many people have traditions that they have passed down from generation to generation in their families. Traditions include stories, rituals, routines, gifts and various other things that families celebrate together during Thanksgiving. Traditions could be as simple as going around the table and taking turns saying things that they are grateful for.

Thanksgiving foods include turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and many other foods.

“My wife’s stuffing recipe is quite good and I think that the world should know that,” Mr. Toret said.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that a lot of people travel to visit family and value the time of being grateful for each other.     

This year, 58.63% of people from a travel survey are planning to stay close to home, according to https://financebuzz.com/thanksgiving-data.

Cooking turkey sometimes is a big task, so there is a butterball turkey hotline that people can call in and ask someone questions about their Thanksgiving turkey. Questions they might have about cooking turkey include how to season it, how to pluck the feathers and whether to deep-fry it or roast it. Call 1-800-BUTTERBALL or text 844-877-3456 to talk to their turkey experts.

According to https://worldstrides.com/blog/2016/11/9-fun-facts-about-thanksgiving/:

• Turkey wasn’t in the menu at the first Thanksgiving. Venison, duck, goose, oysters, lobster, eel and fish were likely served alongside pumpkins and cranberries (not pumpkin pie or cranberry sauce).

According to https://blog.aghires.com/15-thanksgiving-food-facts:

• Americans buy 365 million pounds of turkey the week of Thanksgiving, usually whole turkeys.
• Over 480,000 lbs of fresh pumpkins are purchased each year for Thanksgiving, mostly likely to make a pumpkin pie or some may use for décor.
• Even with the extra calories, it’s a myth that the average person gains five pounds over the holiday. Most people only gain about eight tenths of a pound.

According to https://www.babyquip.com/blog/thanksgiving-facts:

• In the Guiness Book of World Records, the current largest pumpkin pie was baked in 2010 by the New Bremen Giant Pumpkin Growers in Ohio. It weighed 3,699 pounds and measured 20 feet in diameter. The ingredients included a whopping 1,212 pounds of pumpkin, 109 gallons of evaporated milk, 2,796 eggs, 525 pounds of sugar, 7 pounds of salt and 14.5 pounds of cinnamon.
• Big Bird’s costume on Sesame Street is made from turkey feathers that have been dyed yellow. The American Plume & Fancy Feather company is responsible for making Big Bird’s suit which includes 4,000 turkey feathers.
• Cranberries aren’t just for eating. Native Americans used cranberries to treat wounds and dye arrows.
• Male turkeys are called toms.
• Wild turkeys can run up to 20 miles per hour.

There are many fun facts to find about Thanksgiving. It is a holiday that is unique since it’s known for specific types of foods and how far traditions have carried on since the first Thanksgiving was celebrated.

“I think it’s important that people celebrate Thanksgiving because I feel like it brings families together,” freshman Lauren Galvin said.