Traditions are always an enormous aspect of the Thanksgiving holiday, and every American family has their own way of celebrating. Each and every year, families and friends gather, usually at the same venue and indulge in a big community meal, just as the people before them had. In some houses, Thanksgiving brings around new recipes to reflect on the year’s new food trends such as kale or a gluten-free option. In others, people are serving up the old-fashioned giant turkey with sides of stuffing and cranberry sauce. From the first Thanksgiving to todays, turkey is an American tradition dating back centuries. According to the National Turkey Federation, 95% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving.

As the years pass and everyone begins to get older, people use Thanksgiving as an excuse to sit down with family and friends and enjoy a giant meal. Throughout the United States, football on Thanksgiving Day is a big part of the celebration. Whether it be watching a rivalry game in the family living room or going out in the fresh air and throwing the ball around, football can be seen as a ritual during this time of year. For more than seven decades, the Detroit Lions have played a regular-season game on Thanksgiving Day, which has made the team as much a part of Thanksgiving as the turkey itself. The tradition is, in fact, older than 24 current NFL franchises.

The most popular holiday parade in America, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade NY has been a Big Apple tradition since 1924. Attracting more than 3.5 million people to the streets of New York City each year, as well 50 million TV viewers nationwide, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has become so synonymous with Thanksgiving tradition in NYC that it's often shortened to "The Macy's Day Parade." The first-ever Macy's Day Parade actually took place on Christmas of 1924. Macy's employees dressed as clowns, cowboys, and other fun costumes, and traveled with Central Park zoo animals and creative floats a lengthy six miles from Herald Square to Harlem in Manhattan. Today the parade can be seen on TV or in person as the balloons are showcased and the floats are displayed.

My favorite thanksgiving traditions is having my whole family come over to my house and just have so much fun talking and laughing. Happy thanksgiving!