Before people go their separate ways and escape the UC Berkeley bubble for the long weekend, one common tradition many of us love to celebrate is Friendsgiving. Friendsgiving, a lot like Thanksgiving, is an opportunity for us to celebrate the things and people we are thankful for. Though it may not be a national holiday, it’s an important celebration for a lot of reasons.

The first thing we value about Friendsgiving doesn’t even require a special occasion to deserve our love and recognition — food. Whether you are out of meal points, never have time to cook or are going broke from eating out so much, any opportunity for a hearty meal is much appreciated. Food always has a way of bringing people together for a good time.

“I’m not very good at cooking, but I love learning,” said Julia, a sophomore. “For our Friendsgiving, a bunch of us just cooked all day in my apartment. It was a mess, but dinner turned out so well, and the process was so much fun with everyone together like that.” Even if you and your friends decide to go out instead of cooking, eating good food with good people is always a good idea.

Friendsgiving is also very important to those of us who don’t get to go home for the holidays. Thanksgiving weekend gives us just five short days off school, and that may not be enough for all of us to justify travel expenses or long-distance trips.

“Well, home for me is India, so it’s a long trip, and the ticket isn’t exactly cheap. I only get to go home once or twice a year, and Thanksgiving weekend just isn’t a long enough break,” said Sid, a junior international student. “I miss my family a lot around this time during the semester, so it’s cool when my friends get together for our dinner because it’s like having another family.” 

Finally, the most important part of Friendsgiving is right there in the title — friends. Our friends are our chosen family, and every friendship we have is something special that makes our lives better.

“My friends are such a big part of why Berkeley feels like a second home to me. It didn’t always feel that way, so I’m really grateful for the people who came into my life,” said Subin, a senior. “At our Friendsgiving last weekend, a bunch of us got really emotional when we started talking about how our time at UC Berkeley is running out and how we appreciate the friendships we’ve been able to find over the past few years.” 

Even for those of us who don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving is a great way to spread the holiday love and express our gratitude to our loved ones. Eat up all the food, hug all of your friends, and take all the adorable group pictures you want. Happy Friendsgiving from your friends at the Clog!