photo credit: Ella Kirk
27 percent of U.S. families are immigrant families, according to Migration Policy. Most of these families do not have American traditions or extended family to celebrate with.
As a result, these families begin to celebrate holidays and traditions with friends instead of family. This is especially true for Thanksgiving.
Friendsgiving became popularized around 2007 when a tweet began the use of the word, according to Merriam-Webster. Many claim that the start of popularity in Friendsgiving was caused by the popular television show “Friends”.
Friendsgiving became a way to describe the celebration of Thanksgiving with friends to replace or in addition to the typical Thanksgiving with family. Friendsgiving is mostly celebrated by teenagers and young adults since they don’t have their own kids or spouses to celebrate with.
Junior Caitlin Layne loves Friendsgiving and has hosted one two years in a row. According to Layne, it’s a great opportunity to get together and have fun with friends that one hasn’t seen in a while.
“This tradition started during my freshman year, when one of my friends had the idea to have Friendsgiving. I, of course, said yes because I love hosting events like this,” Layne said.
Thanksgiving time gets extremely busy for most people; with traveling, hosting family or cooking various Thanksgiving meals, it gets difficult to find time to spend with friends. Friendsgiving gives people an opportunity to gather with friends despite being busy.
“I like celebrating Friendsgiving because I love hanging out with people I care about during the holidays, and usually, one can’t have all their friends over during actual Thanksgiving. So, it’s a way for me to make sure I get to celebrate this holiday with them and my family,” Layne said.
Another student who celebrates Friendsgiving, junior Sophie Rodgers agrees that this is true for most people who celebrate Friendsgiving.
“To celebrate Friendsgiving, I normally have a huge potluck with my best friends and celebrate our friendship,” Rogers said.
Apart from getting together with friends, many people also find Friendsgiving as an opportunity to express themselves more and try new things. This can be done through clothing, food and music.
“My Friendsgiving celebration differs from my ordinary Thanksgiving celebration. My friends and I bring food items that aren’t technically Thanksgiving food, like brownies and chips with guacamole. We also sometimes get food from the different cultures my friends are from,” Layne said. “We also like to hang out in my living room, singing and dancing to music before we eat.”
In Friendsgiving celebrations, potlucks and festive activities are always a common way people express themselves. But that’s not the only case for certain people.
“I feel free to say what I want and wear what I want,” Rogers said.
In lots of instances, such as Rogers’ family, Thanksgiving can be more stressful than enjoyable with concerns of being judged or not being able to be. This is why they opt for an option like Friendsgiving where they know they’ll be accepted for who they are.
Overall, Friendsgiving can be a great time to get together with friends, eat some delicious food, dance to some music and watch some holiday movies. It’s also a chance to try some new foods and express yourself with your friends.
