The leaves turned yellow, then orange, then brown, and are now mostly gone, the sun is becoming harder and harder to keep around as the days grow shorter, and the air has become angry as it bites and whips through the campus. It is everything we expect, a gentle transition into the freezing winter to come; it is fall.

With fall come pumpkins and apples, candy and corn mazes, and the beginning of the holidays. Sadly though, as is every year, we will soon wave goodbye to the autumn season and prepare the pine tree for decorating, but just before fall becomes winter, we will have one last tradition to honor; Thanksgiving.

Flash back to 1621 when the pilgrims and Native Americans shared the first Thanksgiving. Many Pilgrims had died from lack of food and the terrible weather. With seemingly no hope in sight, Squanto, a member of the Wampanoag tribe, stepped up and taught our forefathers how to fish, and even farm.

The harvest saved the pilgrims from certain starvation, and in celebration they held the first Feast of Thanksgiving alongside the Native Americans to whom they were so grateful.

While today we no longer grow our own food and build our own houses the way the pilgrims did, we still give thanks for what we have. We gather around a communal turkey and feast in the presence of family and friends.

One may ask, however, “How should we get into the Thanksgiving spirit while here on campus?” Well, the first thing one needs to do is begin the decoration process.

Pumpkins, corn, and fake leaves all look wonderful when strategically placed in windows or in front of buildings. Also, small arts and crafts can help one get into the spirit. For example, try folding dinner napkins into origami turkeys, turning walnuts into salt and pepper holders, or even carving out gourds and pumpkins and filling them with fondue, fruit, or any other food you like. Pumpkin, apple, or cinnamon candles are the perfect finishing touch to any fall decorated room.

The fall season brings with it a contagious yearning for anything “fall” flavored. If you are one of the many that fall victim to this urge do not hesitate to try the delicious pumpkin spiced coffee at the C-Shop, grab a pumpkin flavored whoopie pie from Dave, or even try their fresh baked cider donuts.

Nothing beats watching a football game while sipping on warm apple cider and downing a few similarly flavored donuts. If you the fall gifts us with an unusually warm day be sure to grab a pumpkin frappe or sundae while you’re out, you won’t regret it.

While Thanksgiving is all about decorating, drinking pumpkin flavored lattes, and giving thanks for what we have, it is also about giving to those who aren’t as fortunate as us. When we all signed on to be Anselmians we knew that we would inherit the reputation set by those who came before us.

We are a community of kind, welcoming, and generous people. We hold doors for everyone, welcome strangers to our campus, and embrace the “giving” in Thanksgiving.

During this season of being thankful for everything we have, it is necessary to take a step back and realize that we often have too much. Whether that “too much” is of free time, money, food, or clothes. The moral of the story is that as the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer and get much colder, people need us more than ever.

We can all help out by simply donating to the canned good drive, sock drive, volunteering at shelters in Manchester, or if you don’t want to lose that Thanksgiving spirit, donate to the Thanksgiving Baskets.

The Thanksgiving Baskets are baskets, prepared on campus, that are filled with enough supplies for a family to cook a Thanksgiving dinner. They are given to struggling families by Catholic Charities of New Hampshire, and make a huge difference in many communities. There is no better way to show gratitude for all we have than by sharing it with those in need.

So with the fall season slowly changing into winter, why not make every effort to spread the Thanksgiving spirit? The coming months would be pretty depressing without the holidays, so make sure to make the most of them, and most importantly don’t forget to pay homage to those that struggled during the first Thanksgiving, and lend a helping hand to those that need it most this holiday season.