As Halloween increases in popularity and the commercialism of
Christmas starts in many stores as early as July, Thanksgiving gets
shoved off to the side.
Thanksgiving is my son’s favorite holiday. That’s because he gets to eat a wonderfully rich meal with his favorite turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and homemade gravy with pumpkin pie for dessert. We only have pumpkin pie once a year and my son and I are the only family members that like it. Also, unlike Christmas, he isn’t expected to buy presents for others before this fabulous meal.
Unfortunately, Thanksgiving is getting lost in the shuffle. As Halloween increases in popularity and the commercialism of Christmas starts in many stores as early as July, Thanksgiving gets shoved off to the side.
It’s not hard to see why, either. Halloween has become the perfect excuse to dress up and party, for both kids and adults. In fact, more adults are getting into the swing of Halloween, seeing it as a chance to wear silly costumes, and get together with friends, often over-indulging in spirits that have nothing to do with other worlds.
Finding just the right costume for both the kids and adults has become a huge challenge. Merchants cater to this shopping frenzy, and rightly so as they’re in business to make money. So along with Christmas decorations in July, Halloween costumes start about the same time. Even Halloween decorations are becoming more popular, including outdoor lights, witches smashed on the sides of houses, ghosts hanging from trees and large spider webs ready to trap neighborhood cats. Halloween brings out the kid in all of us, the one who loves to think that maybe there really is a monster under the bed.
Then there’s Christmas, which has its own special magic. This is the time of year we look beyond our own needs and wishes, to those of family, friends and members of our community. It’s a great time to remember to do things for others.
In the middle of this is Thanksgiving. To the pilgrims who held that first Thanksgiving feast, nothing was more important. They were still alive. They had survived the trip across the Atlantic and lasted in the New World. There was real reason to give thanks. So they had a party with the Native Americans who helped them survive. For three days they feasted, giving thanks to God, sharing their bounty with their neighbors, understanding the precious gift of life.
Last year after the events of Sept. 11, many of us remembered what there was to be thankful for. We looked around at our own family members who were still with us. Sure, they may have been arguing about what to watch on TV, they definitely come with their own irritating quirks, but they’re ours. Like it or not, family is family and we’re bound to them for life.
But this year Thanksgiving is once again getting buried in the merchandising of Halloween and Christmas. During the first week of November I went shopping for Thanksgiving napkins, a matching tablecloth, cups and plates. Too late.
First of all I couldn’t find Thanksgiving stuff under all the Christmas decorations. Finally, with help from a store employee I went to a small, dark corner of the store where, under the last of the Halloween costumes, I found Thanksgiving items. The few there were had been thoroughly picked over. I found what I needed, but nothing matched. So I ended up with a decorated tablecloth, napkins a shade off the orange in the tablecloth, green cups and plain white plates. I only hope I didn’t scrunch the decorative paper turkey we had last year when I put it away. He’ll be gracing the table again this year.
I’ve come to the conclusion that Thanksgiving needs a good public relations firm. This shouldn’t be a holiday known for overeating and watching TV. We live in a country where we’re still free to make life altering choices. We can choose our church, our spouse, our career, to live a life for good or evil. We can live in a small town or a big city. With hard work, the possibilities are ours for the taking. Not everyone accomplishes all their goals, but at least we can try.
So when everyone is at the table, and it’s time to give thanks, take a moment and do just that. In the United States of America, we truly do have a lot to be thankful for.
