This year will be the first year I’ll be celebrating Thanksgiving without my family. I’m a little sad to be facing the idea of such a family-centered holiday without them, but I’m also a little excited. Not because I’ll be away from them, but because all of my friends near me are in the same situation, and so we decided to do something about it. That something is Friendsgiving.

For those of you who have never heard of Friendsgiving, it is a celebration nearly identical to Thanksgiving, but with a few differences. The first, and most obvious, is that not everyone sitting around the table is related to each other. Secondly, either the host supplies the turkey, or, in the case of my Friendsgiving, everyone pitches in money toward a turkey. Everyone else brings some sort of side dish and/or beverage to share. The third difference is that time is totally irrelevant to Friendsgiving. Some people might celebrate with coworkers or college friends a few days early. Because my roommates and I all work weird hours, we will be celebrating at one in the morning on Thanksgiving Day.

Personally, I’m looking forward to sharing such an important celebration with the friends I’ve made in Florida. The more I think about it, the more I think that Friendsgiving falls more in line with the spirit of Thanksgiving. After all, the original Thanksgiving wasn’t a celebration held among people from the same family and tradition. The original Thanksgiving was a celebration held between two completely different groups with completely different traditions.

So yes, I’m sad to be missing out on the Thanksgiving feast I’m used to, but I’m excited to try something new. Who knows? This might be the start of a new tradition.