Okay, so I understand that Halloween is the biggest holiday before Christmas.

Sort of?

Actually, it’s not. I feel like no one remembers Thanksgiving. I’ve started to genuinely think that people see it as a day to stuff themselves with food and then "shop 'til they drop" in the early hours of Black Friday morning.

Let’s be honest; Black Friday is becoming a bigger holiday than Thanksgiving. Come on.

The thing with Thanksgiving is that it’s more than just a food holiday. Most holidays are food holidays! Halloween is free candy if you dress up as something you’re not. Christmas is gift giving and food. Valentine’s Day is candy for the people you love. Fourth of July is one big, loud BBQ. Holidays are literally driven by food.

So why is Thanksgiving passed over so quickly?

When we think about the actual origins of this holiday and what its intentions are, it’s not the most appropriate celebration for today’s climate. It celebrates the genocide of a whole group of people started by a man who accidentally landed in the Caribbean instead of India. But Thanksgiving has come so far from this fake idea of the “pilgrims and Native Americans sharing a meal together."

Thanksgiving is the holiday that I remember having at my uncle’s house when I was younger. All of the cousins were playing video games together. The adults were chatting and watching the football game together in another room. My aunt was making dinner that wasn't always perfect but we ate her food like she was an Iron Chef. And everyone outside after dinner were catching fireflies between plastic cups, the kids most excited about a bug whose butt lights up.

It’s a holiday that my parents now host, where all the cousins and adults talk together because we’re old enough. All five of us plan the dishes according to our favorites. I really swear my mom could actually be an Iron Chef; she preps days beforehand because we demand so much food. My mom and I plan out dessert; I make the cookies and I help her with the pies.

Yes, Thanksgiving is a food-centered holiday, but it’s the holiday where food literally brings us together. Whether it’s my aunt’s cold stuffing or the plethora of food we make now, Thanksgiving reminds me that there’s nothing like family. I see family members that I don’t normally get the chance to see, and it’s like time hasn’t passed because the food hasn’t really changed. It brings us back to when we were kids, climbing over our uncle’s furniture playing video games, or playing trivia games as adults because, for some reason, we all know useless trivia answers.

Thanksgiving isn’t the meal before the battle because Black Friday isn’t that important. Stop canceling this holiday to sit outside in the cold with fast food and frozen butts. Go make some mashed potatoes or bake a pie. Enjoy the warmth of an actual home and the feeling of being surrounded by family.

Nothing is better than being surrounded by the people you love and those who love you. Happy Thanksgiving.