Forget the turkey and football, Thanksgiving is more than a dinner according to students at BYU–Hawaii. Although the national holiday, Thanksgiving, is synonymous with feasting, Pyper Schmutz, a freshman from Utah studying marine biology, explained she has a different tradition that focuses nature rather than food.
“Every year for Thanksgiving instead of having a big dinner, my family and I go hiking all day. Then we come home and eat pie for dinner because we all know that is the best part of Thanksgiving dinner.”
Schmutz said she has always hiked with her family on Thanksgiving and it has become a huge tradition. Now she is here in Laie, and she expressed how she still wants to keep her family’s tradition alive.
“We have gone all over the place from the Grand Canyon to Zion National Park. My favorite hike was at the Grand Canyon. My family and I hiked down the South Rim, and it was so cool to go all the way down the rim and to the river.”
Hiking is not necessarily what makes Thanksgiving meaningful according to Schumtz. She said it’s the way nature makes her feel. “It feels so good because being in nature already feels good. You are around all of God’s creations, and it is so much easier to give thanks to Him because you are disconnected from your daily distractions.”
She said she thinks hiking and appreciating nature can be a part of everyone’s Thanksgiving traditions. “It is easier to give thanks to nature when you are hiking because you are surrounded by everything you are supposed to be thankful for.”
Kaiden Hinds, a freshman from Michigan studying psychology, said he has a family tradition for Thanksgiving that takes more dedication than watching football or eating traditional foods like turkey and pumpkin pie.
“Every year my family goes down to visit my grandparents in Indiana. On the day of Thanksgiving, we all get up early and run a 5K.”
Hinds’ Thanksgiving tradition was started by his grandmother. He shared how she enjoyed running, and her hometown of Salem, Indiana had a Thanksgiving run. Hinds explained how his family tradition makes Thanksgiving more impactful. “You realize the importance of being thankful through doing something hard like running.”
Hinds said he does not think it necessarily matters what the specific tradition is, but the most significant part of the day is traveling six hours to see his extended family.
Drew Martin, a freshman from Utah studying marketing, shared a similar message as Hinds did. This year Martin is not following a specific tradition, instead, he is trying to spend more time with his grandfather by going to a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game over the Thanksgiving holiday.
“It doesn’t matter what the specific tradition is. What matters is how it brings your family together. Only recently have I had contact with my grandpa so just being with him on Thanksgiving is everything.”
Writer: Noah Shoaf