How important is Thanksgiving to the Hickman student body and faculty? Interviews conducted by the Hickman newspaper have found that, in general, Hickman Kewpies have plans to feast on a lot of food and take advantage of the week off to rest their mind and catch up on their sleep regimen. 

Every time a Kewpie was asked about their Thanksgiving traditions and plans for the break, the first thing that came to mind was feasting. Tenth grader Wilson Laird said, “We gather around the dining table and eat a scrumptious dinner that is quite delectable.” Social studies teacher, Mr. McGuinn responded that he spends his break, “spending time with family, making ridiculous amounts of food, resting, and quality time with those I love.”

It would seem that no matter which Hickman student you ask, every household has a shared goal of utilizing the Thanksgiving break to feast and rest. However, some are planning on traveling out of state, and plan on having their Thanksgiving feast with up to thirty people. For example, ninth grader Jason Hager said, “We have family flying in from California.” On the other hand, some people have said they are celebrating the November holiday at their homes with just a couple of people. Some have said that they will be watching or playing Football on Thanksgiving day while other people might just go to a movie with friends.

But there is something less pleasant that must be mentioned when talking about Thanksgiving. This is the fact that Thanksgiving is usually seen as a second-hand holiday because during the same time of year, Thanksgiving is flanked on both sides by the juggernaut holidays: Christmas and the creepy holiday of Halloween. Thanksgiving break has even been infiltrated by an upstart holiday by the name of Black Friday. Perhaps this is due to the lack of Thanksgiving holiday songs and movies. Does Hickman believe that there should be Thanksgiving songs and movies? Apparently not. English teacher, Mr. Boland immediately responded to the question about Thanksgiving songs with “No, that’s stupid.” When asked about the lack of Thanksgiving movies, ninth grader Jason Hager said “I don’t even know what you could make one about.”

One thing that is certainly unique to Thanksgiving is the food. This Thanksgiving Day, Hickman Kewpies will probably be eating a variety of different versions of the same foods under different names. English teacher, Ms. Brooks has plans on visiting family in Kansas City to eat “manatees (which is what my husband’s family calls crescent rolls because when he was little he thought they looked like manatees).” Will people be having ham or turkey for Thanksgiving? Maybe they will enjoy both like Mr. Boland is planning on doing. Mr. McGuinn said he is looking forward to eating his favorite Thanksgiving food which is “Crack-a-Roni,” (mac and cheese and corn baked together).

It is probably safe to say that both teachers and students are more than eager to reach Thanksgiving break and take a deep breath before plunging back into crunch time a few short days later to prepare for end-of-semester finals. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, right? Some students reminisce about their elementary school days when Thanksgiving was something that teachers in every class would celebrate together with their students during the school day. In high school, both students and teachers are too busy keeping their grades up or finishing all the tasks that need to be done before everyone goes on break to worry about celebrating Thanksgiving together. When asked about those elementary school day celebrations, ninth grader Grace Watson said, “That was pretty cool but not something that we really deserved.” Ninth grader Jason Hager said, “That was kinda fun.”

Does Hickman believe that the Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving, or later? Perhaps even before? This is a divided issue for Hickman, and the answer varies with each household.  Whether Kewps are putting up a real tree or a plastic one, opinions differ on when to put up the Christmas tree and turn on the Christmas music. Ms. Brooks shares her opinion of when the Christmas season begins, “Fall ends the day after Thanksgiving.  Then, and only then, can Christmas and holiday décor come out!” Ms. Brooks continued, “Black Friday is when we put up our Christmas tree and hang lights.” When asked if his family puts up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving, Wilson Laird said, “No, like 5 days before Christmas, we aren’t weird.” Mr. Boland says, “Winter begins the day after Thanksgiving” and Mr. McGuinn states, “Winter begins between pumpkins rotting and Christmas decorations going up. But sometimes a good pumpkin can last until February.” 

Wherever Hickman stands on the transitions between the holiday seasons, Walmart and the rest of the large marketing companies seem to believe that it is okay to start advertising Christmas products as early as before Halloween. Is it though?

Whatever you are planning on doing over the Thanksgiving Break and whatever you will be celebrating over our week off, have a great Thanksgiving break Kewpies!