Growing up, I've always just assumed that nobody liked Thanksgiving. I mean, it's really not a children's holiday, since it's mainly just sitting down for many hours and forcing interactions between people you're supposed to like. Apparently, I'm now in the minority for hating Thanksgiving. I always feel the need to justify myself. So, I'm giving my top 10 list of reasons why Thanksgiving is my #1 least favorite holiday.
10. It celebrates Native Americans being manipulated and killed
This is at the bottom of my list, but that doesn't mean that I don't think it's important. It's just that it isn't a current personal issue that I have to deal with during Thanksgiving. I'm sure that at this point, everyone knows that the pilgrims were not exactly friendly to Native Americans. Maybe Native American spirits are putting negative energies into the room during Thanksgiving as a way of punishing us.
9. It encourages behaving in a fake/people-pleasing manner
This is how most holidays are, but Thanksgiving is definitely no exception. We shouldn't have days where people are forced to be happy, it's just ridiculous.
8. It's not very fun for women.
Often times, women are the only members of the family responsible for preparing/cleaning. Thanksgiving isn't a lot of fun when you're being forced to do all the work while the men are sitting down and watching TV. It's unfair and ridiculous. Luckily, I learned a long time ago that if I prove myself absolutely incompetent then I'm also exempt from food-making.
7. You’re seen as some pathetic creature if you aren’t with your family
Even though a lot of companies force someone to work during Thanksgiving, there's still a stigma around not being with your family on this holiday. Of course, family is everything and it's good to spend time with them. But if Thanksgiving isn't a good day for that, then you shouldn't have to worry about being judged or pitied because of it.
6. It’s during a depressing time (SAD)
I think it's a universal fact that this November has been the worst month of the year. I don't know why, it just has. Not to mention that SAD is now prevalent and so we're all depressed because of the lack of sunlight.
5. It has little to do with being thankful
Hear me out. I know that it's common to say graces, and talk about what you're grateful for and all of that. I agree that that specific aspect of Thanksgiving is related to gratitude. However, when people are celebrating Thanksgiving, they end up having to go out and buy a whole bunch of ingredients and materials and eat food they probably haven't eaten since last year's Thanksgiving. Being thankful is about appreciating what you already have, and Thanksgiving seems to contradict that entirely by forcing people to buy things like turkeys.
4. The concept of food intake is a huge issue in America
It doesn't make sense that a culture so obsessed with their own self-image would have a 66% obesity rate, but then again, it kind of does. Please save your eye rolls, but food intake is also a very sensitive subject for many people. I'm talking about people who have or have had eating disorders. In America, we're constantly being told that we need to look "better", and a lot of the time that just equates to being skinnier. This is no longer just a women's issue either. It's stressful to be constantly worrying about how much you eat, and then all of a sudden you're supposed to feast?
3. Thanksgiving meals are often unpleasant/tense
If your Thanksgiving meal isn't unpleasant at all, that's great honestly. But a lot of times, they can be. It's not uncommon for there to be arguments about politics or jabs at people's personal decisions.
2. The food sucks
Apparently, one of people's favorite things about Thanksgiving is that they can eat a lot of "good" food. However, I hate Thanksgiving food. This is obviously just my own opinion, so there's really not much to explain besides the fact that I honestly can't think of a single "classic" Thanksgiving dish that I actually like besides maybe bread rolls or cornbread.
1. It’s during a very stressful time for most students
Whenever there's fall break, teachers tend to throw a ton of major assignments on us. Right now, those major assignments happen to be finals, which I can say I am 100% stressed about right now. The problem with Thanksgiving is that I can't exactly be studying when I'm busy doing Thanksgiving things.
