As the leaves begin to change and fall, campus starts to feel more autumnal. Our students start to feel a sense of coziness thinking about not only the upcoming fall events on campus but also the holidays.
Thanksgiving and Halloween are two of the most beloved holidays of the year. Both have unique traditions and the importance of community and family. However, each is widely different. They both have different colors associated with them, social norms, decorations and food. When you think of Halloween, you think of sweet treats and sugary candy while Thanksgiving has savory, comfort food.
All of these qualities about the two holidays made me wonder, do our Jays prefer Halloween or Thanksgiving? As I asked fellow students around campus, I was shocked by their answers.
“I prefer Halloween because I can sit in and watch movies or scary YouTube videos,” first-year digital media production major Lillit Paveza said. “I also love seeing the creativity that people put into the costumes and the decorations, it is a time that allows people to do so much.”
Ryan Crone, a junior athlete at Etown, prefers Halloween because he is more interested in horror than he is with Thanksgiving.
Dawson Beccaria, a first-year mathematics major and volleyball player, says that he prefers Thanksgiving over Halloween. “During Thanksgiving, I get to see more family than I do with Halloween. I also love the food at Thanksgiving way more than the candy at Halloween,” Beccaria said. “Thanksgiving is one of my top three holidays.”
First-year student, Best Buddies Member and Bootin’ Scootin’ Jays member, Julia Sevick, is not a fan of horror. “I do not do well with scary things at all and I associate Thanksgiving more with spending time with my family,” Sevick said.
Ariel Abbott, a junior graphic design major, says “I prefer Thanksgiving because it brings my family together and we eat a hearty and delicious meal together.”
As I interviewed these students, I was shocked that more of them chose Thanksgiving over Halloween. I would have thought that more college students would have picked Halloween because they get to dress up and go out or go to a haunted house with their friends. However, I have learned that Halloween is more of a “kid-holiday.” Trick-or-Treating is socially pushed towards children and tweens more than it is with young adults.
Personally, I prefer Thanksgiving over Halloween by a long shot. Although I like the idea of handing out candy to kids, decorating the house and dressing up, there is something special to me about Thanksgiving. Waking up early and watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with my family, watching football, helping cook meals and setting the table, and even just gathering around the table to talk with my family, is much more meaningful and comforting to me than Halloween ever will be.
Do you prefer the spookiness of Halloween or the comfort of Thanksgiving?
