When the kids were still home we always took turns stating things we were thankful for, we did this just before the prayer at our Thanksgiving dinner, sharing our thoughts of what we are thankful for was always a blessing.
Thanksgiving is a big deal to me, I am not going to go into a tale of the first Thanksgiving, but want to share some of my observations and feelings on where we are going with this holiday.
How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? By either traveling to a Family members home to have a large meal, or do you prepare a large meal and wait for everyone to go home so you can clean up the mess.
And speaking of messes, what about all of the Christmas music playing in the stores already, TV commercials are Christmas themed promoting the great deals you can get on that special gift, with a backdrop of Christmas decorations and trees that are also For Sale sitting underneath the “Happy Holidays” sign.
Turn on your radio and listen to the dogs bark jingle bells and wait for Thanksgiving day to actually roll around, not so much for the family experience and the Turkey dinner, this day is now per Walmart for us to skip family time and run out for their Black Friday sale before Black Friday, what kind of crap is this?
I think Christmas is a very important day, but I also think Thanksgiving should be celebrated before we start spending our time and money celebrating Christmas.
The economy in this country is not the best in the world, and I have no problem with people making money, but it seems to me that commercials for Halloween costumes and candy disappear just in time for Christmas advertisements and music to begin.
How do we get Thanksgiving dinner and Family time together celebrated in between Halloween and Christmas without messing up the economy any more than it already is?
Ignore the Christmas sales before Thanksgiving, do not participate in nonsense like Black Friday on Thursday, you should really be at home with family this day rather than dragging them through a store that really cares about nothing more than getting the most out of your pocket in one trip.
Is this nothing more than a rant against retailers taking advantage of the public, I think not, it is actually all about getting things back into proper order, please remember when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Thanksgiving Comes First.
Jim over at Suldog did a post a while back Thanksgiving Comes First where he talks about this very important issue, I thought I’d add my two cents worth as I too believe that as far as retailers go, Thanksgiving is completely forgotten.
How do you feel about Christmas being advertised so heavy before Thanksgiving?
Not to mention that lots of those black friday bargins are crap! My sil picked up a garmin gps system for us one CHristmas and it dosn't work for shit. Thing is impossible to program. I thought it was me, but Mrs. C can't use it and she is smart about stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteI went out after Thanksgiving to a Black Friday sale a few years back, I told Cindy that I'd rather pay full price as to fight the crowds again, it's not worth it to me.
DeleteI absolutely love Thanksgiving, which is kind of odd, because I never celebrated it until I was in my 20's, after I had moved to the U.S. While Christmas is still my favorite holiday, I love Thanksgiving for the fact that it's neither a gift-giving or card-writing occasion. Thanksgiving is the no-stress holiday - it's all about the food!
ReplyDeleteA few years after I had moved here, my ex-mother-in-law asked me if we celebrated Thanksgiving in Germany. Thankfully, I was spared giving a snappy, ironic answer...my ex-husband did that for me: "No, mother, they didn't have Pilgrims or Indians in Germany!"
Like you I like the no stress part of Thanksgiving, I enjoy the food, fun, and family, this is a good time to thank God for what we have and not be worried about gifting.
DeleteI am afraid Thanksgiving is being swept under the rug especially when the stores start opening on Thanksgiving day and offering big sales, I really enjoyed back in the day when everything was closed on Thanksgiving.
I don't believe in Christmas marketing before Thanksgiving. I think this is a case of monkey see and monkey do: one retailer thinks it can make a few bucks by opening on Thanksgiving day and others feel like they have to follow suit. I doubt a study would prove this to be correct; give people more time to shop and I suspect they'll shop less, not more. But what do I know about marketing.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephen, I think you have hit the nail on the head my Friend, because if one does it then the rest will definitely follow, they may never admit it but it sure looks this way.
DeleteI am normally not a Thanksgiving person. Comes from 17 years in retail when Thanksgiving signified the start of my crazy time of year. Now, working for the PO, my crazy time starts in September and starts to wind down around Thanksgiving. So this year I am actually looking forward to it. Especially because my sister is having it and all I have to do is bring the appetizers. :)
ReplyDeleteBut I am also taking it upon myself this year to do fun stuff for the kids. (My parents have 7 grand kids all one to two years apart) Like paper turkey legs that I will hide all over the house for a scavenger hunt. And a thankful wreath for them to record what they are thankful for. So, I went to the store for some Thanksgiving paraphernalia... NADA.
Looks like I'm whipping out the glue gun. :)
Hey Juli, It sounds like you have an excellent plan going, spending time with Family and being Thankful is what Thanksgiving is all about, and if you can get away with bringing appetizers and letting your Sister do the cooking you definitely have a plan that I like :)
DeleteHolidays are stressful for me, but Christmas is the worst. It doesn't help that it starts early! I could actually enjoy Thanksgiving a lot more, if it signified "Thanksgiving", rather than the countdown to the most stressful holiday of the year.
ReplyDeleteAmen Ms. A, It has turned into a countdown hasn't it, I remember as a kid getting dressed up and going over to Grannies house for a huge dinner with family, there was no shopping and no Christmas carols, Thanksgiving was always a big deal to us.
DeleteI love Thanksgiving too, Jimmy, yet it seems to be overlooked by the commercialism of Christmas.
ReplyDeleteFor me, I enjoy spending Thanksgiving Day quiet and reflecting about the many things in my life to be grateful for.
And as far as all the early hoopla of Christmas in retail (even though I'm in retail), I'm totally against it. Years ago, when I was a kid, Christmas didn't start until after Thanksgiving. Now, they both seem to run together.
Great post, buddy!
Hey Ron, Commercialism has taken Thanksgiving all but away from us, don't get me wrong I love Christmas too but everything has it's time and place, and retailers are sweeping Thanksgiving under the rug in the name of the almighty dollar in my opinion.
DeleteThank You Ron I appreciate you Buddy!
Ask my husband and you'll know how I feel about Christmas being so heavily advertised before Thanksgiving. I roll my eyes at every commercial that has a Christmas theme in it that I see on the TV. We stopped and got gas the other day and I happened to look at the window of the gas station and it was already painted in Christmas theme paintings of Santa and snowmen, etc. I have a hard time with Christmas to begin with for a variet of issues, though I'm working through it this year to not actually dread Christmas, so to see these early signs of it approaching gets me in a dither at times. I remember the old days when Santa didn't make his appearance to the mall untl after Thanksgiving and stores didn't decorate until after Thanksgiving (though I did hear Nordstroms was not decorating until after Thanksgiving).
ReplyDeleteI avoid shopping on Black Friday; I definitely won't be out in the stores on Thanksgiving. Let the employees have a day with their families!
betty
Hi Betty, My biggest problem as I mentioned is it seems Thanksgiving is being swept under the rug so to say for the almighty dollar. I also love Christmas but think it has become way to commercialized, thus taking the meaning of both Christmas and Thanksgiving completely away from us.
DeleteI will not be out for Black Friday nor Thanksgiving shopping either, like you I think the stores should be closed and allow employees time to spend with their families if they choose.
I think my country would be better off if we had a Thanksgiving Day. I have always envied the American way of getting together to celebrate it. Being thankful is a wonderful thing. We have Christmas, of course, but these days it is a very half-hearted affair. Church in the morning and presents, and that's it. To my mind our families are too split up, and that's not right!
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Black Friday.
Hi Valerie, Basically Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving where stores open very early in the AM with certain items priced really low for shoppers to scramble for, most time the low priced items are no more than a lure to get everyone into the store in a feeding frenzy mode, there are never enough of these items to go around.
DeleteYes being thankful is a wonderful thing and I think having at least one day set aside just for this purpose is a blessing, this being said is why I think all Christmas related functions should be held off until after Thanksgiving.
Oh boy, Jimmy.....you won't like my post next week. Lol......just not a fan of turkey day, but that's because it's just a whole lot of work for me. I agree though about the whole Xmas push. I have finally convinced extended family that we don't need to exchange gifts, but should just focus on the reason for the season.
ReplyDeleteHey Bijoux, We all have different opinions and do things in our own way, whether you like Thanksgiving or not I will still read your post and respect you for stating how you feel, yes it's a lot of work to pull off Thanksgiving but the Turkey sandwiches the whole week after make it worth it for me Ha Ha
DeleteI agree across the board, Jimmy. We have a lot to be thankful for, and I think that deserves it's own special day. Christmas can wait. And so can all the merchants.
ReplyDeleteS
Thank You Sir, Yes we do have a lot to be thankful for, I just don't want this day overshadowed by everyone taking time away to spend the day shopping.
DeleteThank you, Jimmy. Great stuff, and much appreciated!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome Jim, and I thank you too.
DeleteThere's this guy on one of the local news radio stations. He keeps referring to Thanksgiving as "Turkey Day" and it REALLY bothers me. It's not about the freaking turkey!!
ReplyDeleteAt least you know what it's about, thanks Jimmy!
Hey Abby, You are right there, as long as we sit down together and Thank God for everything we have and let each other know that we love them, the meal really doesn't matter, it's just gravy so to say--pun intended :)
DeleteI've always enjoyed the gathering of family and friends for Thanksgiving, but in the past, it always translated to a tremendous boatload of work for me. Multiple days spent cooking and baking, getting the house ready, doing all the clean-up work afterwards, etc. But for the past four or five years, my only Thanksgiving "job" is to play with the grandchildren while the next generation does all the cooking and cleaning up. Life is good!
ReplyDeleteHey Susan, We have spent many years doing exactly as you mentioned, this year Cindy's Brother is having us over to their home for Thanksgiving, but guess who is bringing the turkey and more Ha Ha
DeleteLife is good my Friend.
I have never done the black Friday thing and I never will!
DeleteI do not want to be crushed to death the day after Thanksgiving to save a few bucks!
I hear you about the Christmas nonsense, our stores had the stuff out along side the Halloween stuff? What in the World??
Relax people! One Holiday at a time, please!
Hi Rachael, That is the same thing I saw here Halloween straight into Christmas, Like you said One Holiday At A Time, Thanksgiving deserves it's due time.
Deletethanksgiving is my all time favorite holiday. Of course, I have it at my house, none is crazy enough to invite 11 people...but a turkey is easy enough to cook and I love counting my blessings with my blessings!
ReplyDeletemy kids do Black friday.
Hi Annmarie, I really enjoy all of the family being together for Thanksgiving, to me it is a blessing having everyone gather around the table for a meal, I have been there and done that with Black Friday and don't really want to do it again, I think my biggest problem is those who are now shopping on Thanksgiving day and skipping the Family time around the table.
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