I love all holidays. For me, a holiday always means hanging with my family and eating really good food. But, one holiday in particular embodies this more than any of the others: Thanksgiving. As someone who absolutely LOVES Christmas and always has, it's been weird for me in the last few years to realize that, while the Christmas season can't be beat, Thanksgiving is the best holiday as an actual day.
For one thing, Thanksgiving is an entire day set aside to be thankful for what we have. I've discovered that the older I get, the more thankful I am. I love that we take time out just to celebrate that we have more things to be thankful for than we deserve. Thanksgiving always brings up these lovely and warm memories of watching the Macy's Day Parade with hot apple cider in the mornings and of baking pies with my mom, grandmother, and sister. It makes me think of excitedly waiting for our large family to arrive at our house (Thanksgiving being the only time that we officially gather there instead of at my grandmother's). Thanksgiving reminds me of a special kind of coziness and warmth that no other day of the year does, even Christmas Day.
Christmas is great; I love the season where it's a little colder outside, but everyone's hearts seem to be just a little warmer. I love all of the decorations and the lights and the music. I love the atmosphere surrounding Christmas. I love that I get to celebrate it as a Christian. The Christmas season is amazing. Christmas Day itself is great, but I've still got to give the best day to Thanksgiving. When else could I take whipped cream "shots" with my cousins and grandmother standing around my kitchen? Could we really wait until Christmas Day to build our gingerbread house that, as a part of tradition and not at all due to faulty workmanship, consistently falls apart about 10 minutes after we step away from it?
Maybe it has something to do with Thanksgiving being the "official" start to the Christmas season too. I mean, personally, I start listening to Christmas music on November 1st (and yes, I still respect Thanksgiving, so slow your roll), but for a lot of people, that extra warm heartedness and cheer and goodwill toward others doesn't really begin until Thanksgiving or the day after. Maybe this day when we're thankful for what we have fuels us to go out and spread a little more kindness in the world. I have no clue. But I do know that it's the only day of the year where it's acceptable to do nothing but eat, watch football, and enjoy the fact that you simply exist in a life as wonderful as this one and that's enough for me.
So, Christmas season, I can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks, but for now, I'll be getting hyped up for Thanksgiving Day — the single best holiday there is.
