Family, football, turkey and leftovers. Generally the traditional Thanksgiving includes all of these, but not every student celebrates this holiday in the classic way.

“Every year my family and I have a Christmas movie marathon,” junior Olivia Conley said. “It really gets me excited for Christmas and it’s a lot of fun even though most families watch Football on Thanksgiving.”

Just like Conley and her family, 34 percent of Americans don’t watch National Football League football on Thanksgiving, according to TV by the Numbers. Although these Americans don’t watch football, they might make sure to break the wishbone for good luck or feast on traditional fixings.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2012 768 million pounds of cranberries were produced, 2.6 billion pounds of sweet potatoes were produced and $23.1 million live turkeys were imported into the U.S.

“Along with the turkey, my grandma makes homemade pasta noodles and my mom makes homemade pasta sauce. We also make a really good cassata cake every year,” junior

Chris Sollena said. “The family aspect of Thanksgiving is really big because we’re Italian.”

A family’s ethnicity plays a big role in the way they celebrate this holiday. Thanksgiving is a mix of different harvest festivals, celebrations, and traditions.

“My grandma makes some good Polish foods like cabasa, kapusta and horseradish for Thanksgiving; and it’s great because I love Polish food,” junior Nick Zonca said.

From Polish to Italian food to even the classic turkey, Thanksgiving can be celebrated in many numerous ways. Each family has their own traditions and ways of celebrating.

“Back home we don’t celebrate Thanksgiving,” junior foreign exchange student John Pace said. “Everyone tells me about the fun and exciting atmosphere that Thanksgiving creates and I’m excited for the American football game.”

“My family and I try to donate a lot around the holidays,” French teacher Joan Baldiga said. “My church group participates in a local charity program called Fish, I give to the Salvation Army and I also sponsor a child through World Vision who lives in Ghana.”