In case you all forgot, there is a holiday squished in between Halloween and Christmas. Each year, I feel like Thanksgiving becomes a little less important to our society. We have become so distracted with shopping Black Friday deals and making our Christmas lists that we seem to have forgotten the entire point of the holiday season. Not only do we skip over Thanksgiving by setting up our Christmas decorations on November 2st, but we also get so caught up in the materialism aspect of Christmas that we forget to take a moment to be thankful for all that we have.
Thanksgiving is a unique holiday because it comes with no strings attached. You don’t have to spend money on candy to pass out to trick-or-treaters, you don’t have to buy gifts for people you rarely see, you don’t have to take the time to pick out a costume, and you don’t have to search for greeting cards. The only expectation that comes with Thanksgiving is spending time with the family and friends who mean the most to you. Oh, and you have to eat, which you are required to do the other 365 days of the year anyway. The holiday truly gives us a day just to be thankful for what we have to enjoy ourselves away from work and school. What more could you want?
Every year we set up our Christmas decorations a little bit earlier and start our shopping just hours after we finish our Thanksgiving celebrations. So, why exactly is Thanksgiving becoming less and less relevant? I think our materialist society often gets caught up in the once-a-year Black Friday deals and the gift-giving spirit of Christmas that we simply don’t see the benefit of sitting around all day eating for no apparent reason on Thanksgiving Day. But, the thing is, not everyone is fortunate enough to partake in gift exchanges during Christmas. And, believe it or not, Black Friday deals aren’t even inexpensive enough for some people. However, it feels like some people have forgotten this.
I am thankful to have a family that celebrates Thanksgiving every single year. I am thankful for a grandmother who cooks an entire meal for my family. I am thankful for the yearly reminder that I am blessed with family, friends, and an insane amount of love and support.
My grandmother has a tradition of asking my cousins and myself the meaning of every holiday we celebrate. Before we sit down for a meal on any given holiday, from Thanksgiving to Veteran’s Day, she makes sure we know why we’re all together on that specific day. Not only is this educational, but it’s also a good reminder as to why we set aside a very limited number of days each year to put our lives on hold. There are so few days we get to take off from school and work that we should treasure each and every one.
So, ask yourself why you’re celebrating each holiday, and, if you’re celebrating it for the right reasons.
