In our ever-changing society, lines blur between so many of the finer points. I have often claimed that Thanksgiving gets short shrift due to where it lies in the holiday season. When the Halloween displays go down in department stores, Christmas trees and wreaths go up. Due to the highly economic nature of the Christmas season, Thanksgiving gets lost in the hustle of purchasing. I can sometimes be easily annoyed by the early signs of a beautiful holiday simply because of its financial benefit to so many.
Where I work, the radios are permitted to be played at a suitable volume when transmitting work-appropriate music. When walking from lab to lab, one can hear the oldies, classic rock, modern rock, and country stations, depending on the people in the room. This past week, however, I have heard a lot of Christmas music. Today is the day after Thanksgiving, and therefore the appropriate day to start your Christmas engines, but earlier in the week, I had no interest in hearing songs about Santa Claus. But Santa Claus is another story entirely. I either changed stations when I was alone or simply left the room when Christmas music was being played. It may just be me (and I doubt it), but Christmas has a time and place, and November is not one of them.
I understand the holiday rush, to some extent. Christmas calls many people to spend, spend, spend until they have nothing in their pockets. Finding the perfect gift can take time, more than 24 days in some cases, and the need to start shopping can pressure some people until they finally crack, be it in November or even October. Christmas is excellent for the American economy, as well as the economies in other countries since we import so much. The debt and the stress is all worth it when our financial institutions see more coins in their coffers, I suppose. But this is also another story entirely.
The point I am trying to emphasize, and I realize I haven’t done it well, is that Thanksgiving is underestimated. Thanksgiving is a holiday that focuses on the family. Thanksgiving allows families to sit around the table, enjoy a good meal, then sit and chat peacefully about the joys of the season. Thanksgiving is a holiday dedicated to rest and reflection. If this holiday were in August, sandwiched between Fourth of July and Labor Day, it would be a much-beloved holiday of food and revelry. Since Thanksgiving is only a few days away from the biggest shopping month of the year, it gets swept under the table, off the financial radar, and socially downplayed.
Luckily, in my family, Thanksgiving has its own distinct, unique place in the autumnal calendar. My mother is quite a cook, and any time I can enjoy a multi-tiered meal at her table, I’m happy. The desserts, my mother’s desserts, are unparalleled by any bake sale or grocery store; no other cook can hold a candle. With pumpkin roll, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin pie, and apple pie, dessert practically becomes its own meal. The most important part about Thanksgiving in my family is the community we share. This year, we had eleven and two little ones around my family table. Normally when I come in for a weekend, since I’m the only one who lives far away, I have to make extra effort to see my whole family before I have to go back. Thanksgiving gives me a way to see everyone, hug everyone, and enjoy the company of my wonderful family.
Today is Black Friday, the day to ignore Thanksgiving and turn our minds towards Christmas. Christmas is celebrated all through the month of December. In a way, however, Christmas gets its own truncation. The “Twelve Days of Christmas” actually begins on Dec. 25 and ends on Jan. 6, Epiphany (as any good Catholic knows). Sometimes it feels like Christmas is over at midnight on December 25, when it should really carry over into the new year.
I try to be mindful of all holidays, especially with respect to both faith and family. Thanksgiving deserves to be its own distinct entity, not some day of gluttony in between candy and presents. Take time to reflect and give thanks. You have a lot to be thankful for.