Forget the Pilgrims. For many Harvard students, Thanksgiving has gone from a day of turkey and family bonding to a weekend filled with friends, competitive eating and video-game playing.

But going home remains a popular option, allowing a break from the routine and a glimpse of last summer.

"It provided an excellent opportunity to get away from school for a few days and see the family," said Sarah H. Brierley '00, a Cape Cod native. "But you do have to deal with your parents."

Ever the New Yorker, Mark G. Heiman '00 found other ways to pass the time.

"I got some shopping done at Bloomingdale's. That was pretty much the best part," he said, perhaps with a tinge of cynicsm.

Others were more optimistic about the brief homecoming. "On Thanksgiving Day, I played football, ate turkey and homemade apple pie. It doesn't get any more American than that," said Tim J. Arnold '00, who took friends home to Maine for the holiday.

Heading to a friend's house was a widespread phenomenon. Regardless of location, however, food played a prominent--even competitive--part in most people's vacations.

"Every year, I try to eat my age in platefuls of food. I never seem to spread it out enough, though, because I could only do three and a half this year," said Matt F. Delmont '00. "I was pretty embarrassed by my performance."

Jake Ewart '00 shared Delmont's regret at a poor mealtime performance.

"We had a competition to see who could eat the most. I promised myself I wouldn't get up from the table until I was sweating gravy," he said.

"I was hurting by the end. They actually had to help me up and carry me to the living room. Luckily, I got my second wind later, just in time for dessert," he added.

While spending time with friends was a good experience for the most part, there were the occasional moments of home-sickness.

"The only time it was hard was at Thanksgiving dinner because you notice the little differences in the way your family does it from theirs. If someone doesn't put the jelly on the right size plate, you want to cry for Mom," said Daniel B. Baer '00.

While most preferred to head out of town, others found themselves remaining on campus for the holiday weekend. Staying to study did not seem to be a particularly popular option, as those students left on campus generally were here for athletics or because home was too far away to justify the trip.

"It was like a ghost town around here," said Tim S. Hill '99, whose basketball obligations kept him on campus last week. "I expected to see a lot of people, but there was no one."

Boredom ran rampant among those who were left behind--roommate- and neighborless. "Video games are always a good way to pass the time," said Hill. "I worked on perfecting my Playstation game and the week went by pretty fast."

Regardless of whether they went home or to a friend's house or stayed on campus, students' overriding sentiment was that Thanksgiving functions primarily as an anti-climactic precursor to winter break, and just makes them anxious to go home again.