As the holidays near, students share their love for autumn, family, food and Thanksgiving
With the Thanksgiving break coming up in just a few short weeks, students are looking forward to the five-day weekend that the holiday offers. Our 2016 Thanksgiving survey shows that a whopping 64 percent find the five-day break as the best part of the Thanksgiving holiday. Sorry, moms and dads, spending time with family comes in as a distant second place.
For the actual day of Thanksgiving, survey results were more evenly divided for the top two spots. While eating came in as Number 1 with 46 percent, family came in as a close second at 38 percent. Surprisingly for our OSU-crazed student population, watching college football came in at a distant third.
Most UA students will spend Thanksgiving day eating turkey at home; however, almost a quarter of the student body will be traveling to a nearby family member’s home. Close to 7 percent of students will be traveling.
Moving on to what many consider to be the most important part of the holiday (or perhaps just the most memorable?), students weighed in on their favorite dishes over the Thanksgiving break. Mashed potatoes came in first with a whopping 36 percent of the votes. (Surprising, as students entered almost 40 responses for favorite dishes.) Pumpkin pie, turkey and stuffing came in second, third and fourth places, respectively; however, the difference between those spots was negligible, with a span of less than 15 votes separating the three, which is probably not statistically valid for a survey of comprised of 455 votes.
While Thanksgiving received the most votes for the second most popular holiday, Christmas/Hanukkah received the first place ranking with an overwhelming 74 percent of the first place votes. Thanksgiving was ranked first place by 11 percent of voters.
Many students shared their favorite memories of Thanksgiving holidays from the past. From Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade memories to D.C. travels to visit family, students have a variety of fond remembrances of the holiday meant to give thanks for all that we have.
Students shared their favorite memories of Thanksgiving holidays from the past:
Whether planning to spend time at home with family or traveling out-of-state to enjoy the five-day break, Thanksgiving gives students the opportunity to spend time with loved ones and give thanks for all that we share.
SOURCE: VOLUNTARY ONLINE ARLINGTONIAN SURVEY OF 455 STUDENTS CONDUCTED OCT. 30-31