Smith said the holiday gave her an opportunity to catch up on activities she hasn’t had time for. “It has been a really busy year, and I feel like I finally got to move in to my room,” she said. She added that she planned to hit the day-after-Thanksgiving sales at 6 a.m., but ended up going around noon.

Ana Huang ’08 spent her Wednesday before Thanksgiving helping other people celebrate. Along with a dozen other volunteers from the Harvard Progressive Advocacy Group (HPAG), she prepared a turkey dinner with stuffing and pie for an event at the state house organized by the First Church Shelter and HPAG. According to Huang, the event was intended “not just to provide food,” but also to raise awareness.

“The holiday season is a chance to bring attention to a population that is usually ignored by the public and politicians,” she said. She said a letter-writing table offered people the opportunity to contact their representatives—but some of the homeless were disappointed that only a few legislators attended the event, though many were invited.

Most of campus and Harvard Square was closed down for Thanksgiving day. “It was like having the city to yourself, but with not much you can do,” Pacurar said. Even cafes were closed, and Pacurar and her friends had to “go on a quest for restaurants.”

For Bybee, it was “a pain” that the shuttles were not running. And though he planned to work out, he was disappoitned to learn that the Malkin Athletic Center and Blodgett Pool were closed.

Many varsity athletes also had to spend their Thanksgiving away from home.

“We’re just like a big family anyway, so it felt like family time,” said Caitlin K. Cahow ’07, a defender on the women’s hockey team.

Although the team lost the two games they played on Friday and Saturday, Cahow said they had a lot of fun together.

“For us, it’s good not having to worry about classes and hockey at the same time for once,” she said.