Every year, come Nov. 1, Christmas music begins to play in retail stores and the Christmas trees go up. I understand that Christmas comes with a long list of festivities but what about Thanksgiving? It’s the unsung holiday of the -ber months and it deserves equal attention to its festive counterparts.
By the time Christmas begins to invade our everyday lives, the leaves are just beginning to fall off the trees and the temperatures are just starting to drop. Fall is barely given time to settle in before it’s quickly ushered out in exchange for Christmas and its wintery decor. I’d rather wait for winter to officially hit before giving into Christmas and its festivity because winter is a distinct part of the holiday.
Additionally, by giving November to the red and green clutches of Christmas carolers, we as a society subtly suggest that it is more important than every other holiday. It must be more important to us, we’ve given it two months to celebrate. We have allowed Christmas to steamroll right over Thanksgiving and awarded itself the title of “Best Holiday Ever.”
Christmas not only has taken November but it has made its way into our summers as well. Those who can’t go more than a few months without jolly feelings and winter aesthetics need to look no further than the Hallmark channel in July. “Christmas in July” is its official name, earning the holiday a few more weeks in its repertoire.
On the contrary to Christmas, which might get a football game every so often, Thanksgiving always has football games playing due to the fact that it lands on a Thursday every year. Since Christmas is tied to the 25 instead of a specific Thursday, the odds are stacked against football landing on the same day as Christmas. If the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade isn’t really your speed, there’s nothing more American than football.
Also unlike other holidays, mainstream capitalism has yet to turn its greedy focus to Thanksgiving. Christmas isn’t the only victim of this, other holidays like Valentine’s Day and Easter have become largely more about the gifts and accolades. This ties directly to capitalism and its deadly grip on our society.
However, Thanksgiving’s lack of recognition has largely allowed it to avoid this fate compared to its counterparts. Like with everything, it comes with its own purchases; the larger quantity of food, a table cloth or perhaps a turkey-shaped butter. Of course, there are ways to go above and beyond for the holiday, but the amount of turkey-shaped decor doesn’t even hold a candle to Christmas and its overwhelming abundance of silver bells and red ribbons.
I know one thing I’ll be thankful for this Thanksgiving; its lack of remembrance keeps capitalism looking elsewhere to scalp unsuspecting Americans and my favorite holiday relatively cheap.
Yes, Thanksgiving is a laborious holiday. The food takes forever to prepare, let alone to cook. Admittedly, some of the meals are dry and not everyone’s cup of tea. The day feels like it drags on and on. The festivities seem lackluster at best compared to other holidays. But, I think a large part of that is perspective.
From my perspective, Thanksgiving is a labor of love kind of holiday. The women in my family passionately make all the pies over the course of two days, which are spent in a crowded kitchen of women and ultimately end with puffs of flour being thrown at one another. There is tradition lining every pie pan, a tradition that came long before me and will certainly outlive me. My father does a new spin on his green bean casserole every year that has even the most vegetable-avoidant child fiending for it.
Family can be a touchy subject for some, particularly when it comes to politics, but Thanksgiving isn’t only for those you’re related to by blood. Friendsgiving is a trend that is growing in popularity and nearly becoming more popular than the original holiday. And, I think it’s just as good. It has the fundamental ingredients of Thanksgiving; being with people you love and eating foods you wouldn’t go out of your way to eat daily.
So, before you deck the halls this November, give a second thought to Thanksgiving. If you don’t like turkey, find an alternative. Sick of the pies? Give turnovers a try this fall season. Make your own traditions or a trivial legacy that will outlast you. Thanksgiving is not only a chance to look inward but also forward.
