For as long as I can remember, Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. An entire day of nothing but stuffing your face and watching football? Count me in. Thanksgiving is a holiday full of tradition, and often times it is the only time that gets families together out of the entire year. Part of the reason I love Thanksgiving so much is it is one of the few times I get to hang out with my cousins. When we were younger, we used to go to my aunt’s house in the mountains and spend the days hiking along rivers, venturing through the town and chilling in the hot tub. Years later, when we were a little older, this changed to intense backyard football games, watching Christmas movies in the living room and having competitions to see who could sneak the most dessert out of the kitchen before dinner. However, it never mattered what we were doing as long as we were hanging out together.  

Another great thing about Thanksgiving is that the fall weather is usually still mild enough to encourage outdoor activities such as football, corn hole, “turkey trots” (if you’re into that kind of thing) and bonfires. If you live in the south, Thanksgiving always seems to be a natural close to fall and the start to winter, so it’s a great day to enjoy those outdoor activities before the weather gets too cold. 

Finally, after you stuff your face with helpings of the best home-style foods, you have no choice but to lie around and be lazy (blame it on the tryptophan in the turkey). Thankfully, the television is packed full of football games and Hallmark Christmas movies, so everyone can find something to watch (or fall asleep to). 

Another great thing about Thanksgiving is the history it represents. The first Thanksgiving occurred when the pilgrims in Plymouth celebrated their first corn harvest by inviting the Wampanoag Native American tribe to join in a feast with them. This first Thanksgiving lasted three days and was a great way to bring the pilgrims and the Native Americans together as a community.  

Sadly, however, Thanksgiving seems to be skipped over every year, with an abrupt jump from Halloween to Christmas. Even though Thanksgiving often seems to be forgotten by the media, most people still get to take the day off, and many people often get multiple days off.  Some schools even let students out for the entire week. We all know how stingy schools can be with giving students days off, so for schools to be letting students out for an entire week, Thanksgiving must be pretty important. 

So this Thanksgiving, I encourage you to embrace it for all of its greatness. Take a break from school, work, responsibility and stress. Enjoy being home with your family and allow yourself to be lazy just for a day. You won’t regret it. I never do.