Thanksgiving

My Thanksgiving is, actually, very similar to the "stock image" that was described in the prompt. My Thanksgiving memories are, as a whole, positive and warming—filled with traditions that I will never forget. Every Thanksgiving day, I wake up to the pleasant smell of roasting turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie, and various other delicious delights. Every year, my mom and sister cook most of the feast while my dad and I help occasionally, and every year—after the feast—my family and I visit the local theater to watch a movie of our choice. Every year, we arrive home from the theater and watch year another movie: Home Alone (don't ask me, I have no idea how that became customary). And every year, I enjoy the same routine with my family on this glorious holiday. While my Thanksgiving experience may seem as if it becomes boring and repetitive after some time, it does not; it is tradition, and family traditions such as this must preserved as it defines my family's experience and identity from that of other families'. But my family's typical Thanksgiving traditions are only a small portion of the traditions held by families and societies all over the world. In general, traditions are extremely important to human society; traditions produce distinct, characteristic cultures and help to perpetuate peace and order in societies by persuading subjects of the benefits of governmental rule. Religion is a perfect example of this. Confucian philosophy, for instance, mandates that people should conform to government policies and do whatever is required of their communities in an effort to maintain security for all.

My point is that although Thanksgiving is an enjoyable time of the year ( there is, after all, tremendous amounts of food), it is tradition and is therefore important to Americans' identity as a whole.