As Thanksgiving approaches on Nov. 25, people are wondering if this holiday will be more normal this year after having gone through 18 months of the COVIC-19 pandemic. Additionally, people are wondering if it will be safe to travel.

     The CDC website states, “CDC still recommends delaying travel until you are fully vaccinated.” Now that the population of people with vaccinations is higher, there is a stronger likelihood that people may feel safer traveling for Thanksgiving.

   According to the San Bernardino Sun, Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the medical department at UC San Francisco, said that he thinks that hunkering down forever is not a practical strategy and that if one is fully vaccinated, they have already done most of what they need to do to keep safe.

   Penn-Trafford students said they are excited to enjoy their usual Thanksgiving traditions, travel plans and favorite holiday foods.

   “I go to my grandma’s,” said freshman Emily Blattenberger. “She lives about 45 minutes away.” Blattenberger also said that her tradition would be “making fun of my grandma’s cooking” and that her favorite Thanksgiving food is turkey.

   “We go to my uncle’s house,” said freshman Ava Capdevila. “We do it every single year.” Capdevila also said that her tradition would be “my younger cousins have a dance party” and that her favorite Thanksgiving foods are turkey and mashed potatoes.

   Sophomore Alyssa Stell said that her family travels to South Carolina for Thanksgiving, and her favorite Thanksgiving food would be “definitely pumpkin pie and stuffing.” Stell added that her tradition would be that her family “usually eats turkey and the whole island at my grandma’s is full of food.”

   Sophomore Eva Lichty said that her family normally goes to her grandparents and has dinner there. Lichty also said that her family’s Thanksgiving tradition would be “my mom makes mac and cheese” and that her favorite foods at Thanksgiving are “mac and cheese and mashed potatoes.”

   The winter holidays following Thanksgiving should also be taken into account. Spectrum News NY1 said that according to CDC data, the amount of new COVID-19 cases fell 36 percent from Sept. 1 to Oct. 1, but that the worst wave of the pandemic followed Thanksgiving and Christmas last year. 

   Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said, “I will be spending Christmas with my family — I encourage people, particularly the vaccinated people who are protected, to have a good, normal Christmas with your family.”