When people are asked about their favorite holidays, many will reference Christmas, Halloween, Easter, or 4th of July. However, I feel that Thanksgiving isn’t given the credit it deserves. We see the build-up to Halloween up until the 31st of October, and the very next day Christmas decorations hit the stores. It’s like we want to skip over Thanksgiving and go right to the flashy Christmas holiday. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas, but here are some reasons why you should love Thanksgiving just as much as the other bigger holidays we celebrate.

1. It’s fairly inclusive.

When you think about it, many holidays like Easter and Christmas center around religion. While this isn’t a bad thing, as there should be holidays to celebrate each religion, having them does exclude some people. However, Thanksgiving is all about gratitude and giving thanks. No matter what religion you participate in, or even if you aren’t practicing any religion, you can get on board with this message and celebrate it.

2. You can celebrate it any way you want.

You can do this with any holiday, but “Friendsgiving” has become a super popular term. While going home is awesome, there isn’t any shame with not making the trip back home and chilling with your friends. Or, you can celebrate with your friends a week before and visit your family the day of Thanksgiving. You can eat turkey, or not. There isn’t a set way to celebrate this awesome holiday, so have fun with the people you love.

3. You get work/school off.

Holidays are always great, but they are even better when you aren’t required to go to school or work. Also, instead of getting only one day off, you get that Friday off too. It’s a bonus day! It’s a perfect amount of time, as you get a four day weekend. It’s enough time to disconnect from the stress of class, but not too long that you get angsty with having nothing to do.

4. The food.

No question about it, traditional Thanksgiving Day food is awesome. Turkey is delicious, stuffing and mashed potatoes, and of course, pumpkin pie. We love Pumpkin Spice Lattes for a reason. But in all seriousness, making the food can be a day long process, so if you love cooking, this is a bonus, but eating the food the day of is wonderful as well. Also, you typically have leftovers, which means no cooking for a few days, and you get to enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner for a little longer.

5. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Seriously, it’s a morning filled with giant balloon versions of your favorite characters. What’s not to love? Turning this wonderful parade on in the morning is a perfect start to the day. It never disappoints and only come around once a year.

6. Football.

If you have any friends or family members who are huge sports fans, this is the perfect holiday for them. First of all, you have NFL playing pretty much all day, and typically that Friday there are some pretty big college game. Since I’m originally from Oregon, I have to give a shout out to the Civil War, but everyone from UW and WSU will be ready to watch the Apple Cup. If you are a sports fan at all, you’ll be happy for this weekend.

7. Nap time!

You eat way too much food, spent all your energy making the meal, and visited with your family all day. It’s exhausting. However, it’s fine because it’s acceptable to take a nap on Thanksgiving. College students love their naps, so this part of Thanksgiving is always a plus.

8. Seeing family and friends.

Whether you go home to visit your family or you decide to spend the day with your friends, today is a great day to spend with the people you love.

9. Giving thanks.

Going back to what the day is all about, stepping back and looking at that things you are grateful for can really put things into perspective. Our lives are so busy, and there can be so much negativity in the world that it can be hard to realize what we are thankful for in our lives. There is so much we take for granted that we do need days like these to realize how much we have in our lives.

Overall, Thanksgiving is amazing. There are so many reasons why this holiday is awesome, so we should appreciate it more. Hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving!