Dear Thanksgiving,

First off, I'd like to say that I'm sorry you're mostly bypassed by Christmas as of late. I know it may seem rough that just as October ends Christmas commercials become plastered across every plasma in every possible location. But, I'm writing you this letter as a form of appreciation for your day in the hopes that maybe next year, the annual steam rolling of Thanksgiving for Christmas won't occur.

Secondly, I think I have found a reason as to why your day is often forgotten or left in the cold when it comes between Christmas and Thanksgiving. I mean, to be fair, there is no Thanksgiving music one can blare from their car, so I guess Christmas does have that over you. But, I believe there is another reason as to why we don't give you the same attention as Christmas. Thanksgiving isn't about possessions or stuff or money or status. Thanksgiving is simply about being. It's about being with those you love and sharing a meal without expecting anything in return, and I think that makes people uncomfortable. We have come to accept and promote a society in which transactions and trades and purchases are far more revered and praised compared to actual human conversation. Strip away the cars and houses and vacations and what do we have left to talk about? Your day is often even filled with talk of Christmas, as people are so afraid to exist in their own space and actually have a discussion that they'd rather talk of the next best thing to come, the next transaction if you will. Thanksgiving is the holiday that is simply the stepping stone for Christmas, but I have come to realize that this holiday may hold more value than any other. When else are you going to be gathered together with family, surrounded by those you love and who love you, with no pressure to reply in a certain way to a gift or to stress over the act of giving something. Thanksgiving is the one time of year in which we can all gather together to simply be. And that "being" is something we only experience rarely, at a glimpse or passing by a window, before we know it, it's gone and we are back to "doing". So, Thanksgiving I need to thank you, for giving everyone at least one day a year in which we are all instructed to simply "be", in all senses of the word.

Finally, I'd like to end this letter with the sentiment that even though we may have forgotten you or trampled your day on the way to the "better holiday", just know that you have given me some of the best times with family I've had. You've given me cherished memories throughout the year that I'd never want to take back. From then: falling around in the first snowfall of the year with my cousins as we ran bundled up in our winter coats through the frosty air, feeling the crisp bite of the approaching winter and listening for the call that would announce the delectable pumpkin pie being served. To now: sharing a meal beside my ninety one year old grandfather, and listening to him retell the story of how his three brothers were sent overseas to fight, leaving him by himself, left to be the man of the house at a time when he was still a boy. These memories and fragments of my life are things that I could never see my life without, for they give my life depth and richness that was not there before. And I guess I have you to thank for that, Thanksgiving.

So, this Thanksgiving remember to cherish those you love, eat lots of great food, and be thankful. That is what it's all about, after all.