Roasted turkey. Mashed potatoes. Stuffing. A warm, buttery pecan pie.

The staple foods of the age-old pilgrim holiday that roll around every Nov. 27 are a familiar sight on most dinner tables across the country. But for students whose parents immigrated to this country, their dinner table looks a little more unique.

Chinese: Katy Wang

For sophomore Katy Wang, turkey holds no significance in her household on Thanksgiving.

Fu pi, or fried bean curd skin, is instead one of her favorite dishes that show up in her family’s annual hotpot.

“It’s these sheets of tofu, bean curd, then the soup base cooks it and it’s the perfect consistency,” Wang said. “It’s chewy but kind of soft, and it soaks up the flavor.”

Before Wang’s parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1990, celebrations in China would commonly feature customary dishes such as hotpot or Peking duck. Hotpot, or huo guo, is a Chinese soup kept warm by simmering in a communal pot while adding various ingredients of your choice.

It has just as quickly become a tradition for Wang, who has eaten those signature dishes during holidays for as long as she can remember.

When Thanksgiving is hosted at Wang’s house, her family spares no effort in preparing for it.

“It’s also like family bonding,” Wang said. “We all go to the supermarket and give our inputs on what we want to put in the hotpot.”

Hotpot is typically eaten in the wintertime and symbolizes togetherness and communion on its own. The Wang family all gather at one house, and the host provides an array of ingredients for everyone to add at any time during the meal.

Wang describes it as one big melting pot of her family’s favorite foods.

Syrian: Layth Patel

A homey blend of lamb, rice and pomegranate comprises sophomore Layth Patel’s Thanksgiving palette. His family goes one step further, creating a fusion of his Syrian family’s Arabic food and classical Thanksgiving dishes.

“We do a mix of traditional Thanksgiving foods like turkey, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and Arabic food.” Patel said.

Maqluba, one of Patel’s favorites, is a traditional Arabic and Palestinian “upside-down” dish made of lamb and rice.

After dinner, his family crowds around the television to watch Arabic TV shows, enjoying a time of laughter and unity.

Maintaining Syrian elements while celebrating an American holiday reinforces Patel and many other students’ connection to their culture, come every late November.

Vietnamese: Joshua Nguyen

A storm of 45 relatives brighten up the atmosphere at one family’s house, bringing winds of traditional Vietnamese and American foods alike with them.

Freshman Joshua Nguyen’s family usually brings banh xeo, a crispy, stuffed rice pancake, to their family’s annual Thanksgiving potluck.

Turkey, corn and mashed potatoes won’t be missed, but egg rolls, banh mi and other Vietnamese delicacies never fail to make their appearance either.

However, aside from the typical dishes commonly seen in Vietnamese cuisine, multicultural dishes just as Korean japchae and Cantonese ginger scallion lobster find their way onto the dinner table as well.

“Although the dishes aren’t all Vietnamese, our family cooks it using our version of the recipe,” Nguyen said. “It surprised me to find out that japchae was Korean, since we’ve been bringing it to family gatherings for so long.”

Nguyen also enjoys spending time with his 15 cousins, five of whom he sees regularly.

Bầu cua cá cọp, a Vietnamese gambling game involving betting on six animal pictures, is one of the cousins’ go-to games. They combine cultural classics like bầu cua with global favorites like Bingo and Super Smash Bros.

Nguyen cherishes the opportunity to reunite with his extensive family and appreciates the cross between his culture and the holiday traditions many celebrate in America.

“Some of my relatives fly in from Vietnam every year just to meet up with our whole family,” Ngyuen said. “It makes me feel very cozy to be able to spend Thanksgiving together.”

Persian: Derek Beckham

Growing up in Dallas, Texas, Pre-AP English 2 teacher Derek Beckham spent Thanksgiving with relatives on his father’s side crowded around a table of turkey, traditional stuffing and the like. Now, he details his celebration that has diversified greatly after marrying his wife around seven years ago.

His wife has since introduced new Persian traditions from her culture that complement the roasted turkey and sweet potato pie present in their Thanksgiving feast. Ghormeh sabzi, an herb stew simmered with tender beef and red kidney beans, is a fan favorite in the Beckham household — a specialty of his mother-in-law from Iran.

Part of his wife’s family is Muslim and doesn’t eat pork, but they accommodate and cook a variety of Iranian options and traditional American foods. Rice is a staple on their table, a crucial ingredient in most, if not all, Middle Eastern dishes.

Combining two deep-rooted traditions from both sides of the family creates one fundamental fusion that shapes their children’s appreciation of American and Iranian culture.

Preserving that same culture is also imperative to passing down part of their South Asian heritage even in America.

“My wife’s father passed away a few years ago, so it’s been a bit different,” Beckham said. “But I think time goes on. It’s important to keep those traditions as constant as you can even if life does change, but it’s always a good excuse to get people together and have fun.”

Their cultural fusion has also expanded the tastes of Beckham’s side of the family when they visit for Thanksgiving.

“My mom is all about it, and she loves coming to visit and just trying new dishes,” Beckham said. “It’s opened up my family’s perspective a little bit on food and cuisine and just trying something different.”

Amid the laughter of friends and hugs from distant relatives, families pause their busy schedules to enjoy a time of gathering and appreciation with their loved ones.

Not everyone may celebrate the same Thanksgiving, but the gathering of family, friends and good food is universal.

From hotpot to maqluba, to banh xeo and ghormeh sabzi, no ingredient or recipe is the same. But one meaning — the meaning of this holiday — will never change.

“It’s beautiful how [Thanksgiving] transcends so many borders and cultures and even languages,” Beckham said. “It’s about togetherness, friends, family and just being appreciative of what you have. I think any culture in the world can appreciate that.”