With Thanksgiving behind us, Christmas is in full motion. However, this festive spirit came long before Thanksgiving. Stores had their Christmas decorations up no later than mid-November as well as Christmas music ringing in the radios.

I, myself, am a full supporter of Thanksgiving. Every holiday should be fully embraced, appreciated and lived. Christmas can wait until AFTER Thanksgiving; turkey first.

The flood of Christmas and Black Friday promotions left a stinging stigma in my mind, which got me thinking. Thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas, the two holidays, and their order.

We have Thanksgiving first. We are to first reflect on what we have. To be thankful for the blessings we have been given… and then flood our lives with more materialism, more unnecessary ‘necessities’.

Maybe if we fully embraced Thanksgiving and the practice of thanksgiving, things would be different. Maybe Black Friday wouldn’t be as big of a deal. Maybe we would not be hypnotized by the advertisements that lure us into spending more than we have. Maybe the obsession with materialism in America would lessen. Because when we reflect on what we have, and are truly grateful for it, we increase our awareness of the goodness that is already present in our lives.

Most of us have a lot, more than we could ever need and want. But we forget. Media enchants us with the new, the better and the more improved. These advertisements bombard our brains constantly, continuously slipping the stigma of consumption into our subconscious. However, these subliminal attacks are creeping earlier and earlier, overshadowing Thanksgiving and everything the holiday stands for.

Thanksgiving is about being thankful. It’s appreciating what we have and who is around us. It combats materialism on multiple levels. Not only preventing it by seeing the lack of necessity, but by exposing the emptiness in materialism. This is done in embracing family and friends, seeing the value in people and their presence. No toy, purse, or album can replace that of a loved one.

I know this is a little late as Thanksgiving has passed, as well as Black Friday, and the country is in full Christmas mode. But thankfulness can occur at any time. So before the brainwashing takes place, be thankful. Reflect on what you have.

Of course, you should enjoy the season. Bake cookies, decorate a treat, buy gifts, but above all appreciate the blessings already present.