Thanksgiving Day

Yes, it is that time of year again.  Where does the time go?  It seems like it was only yesterday that we were talking about Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

Now, Thanksgiving is not generally hailed as one of the “major” holidays of the year – particularly by the retailers.  After all, how much shelf space did you see taken up with Thanksgiving Day decorations?  Halloween comes around and there are costumes, candy and other Halloween things everywhere.  Then, once Halloween is over, the Christmas stuff comes out and in force.  There is, of course, that small amount of space dedicated to the pumpkins and other fall decorations.  But for the most part, the majority of the shelf space goes from Halloween to Christmas.

Of course, the work force loves Thanksgiving since it makes for a long holiday for many people.  Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday off – like a mini vacation.  But, is that really what the importance of Thanksgiving is all about – 4 days off??

The name of the holiday itself should be an indication of its meaning – Thanksgiving.  Traditionally, families gather and eat themselves into a stupor.  No gifts, no fireworks – just good food and family gatherings.  However, I suspect that the family gatherings are getting smaller and smaller each year.

To further decrease the importance of Thanksgiving, it is all now about Black Friday.  How many television advertisements do you see about Thanksgiving Day?  How many to you see about Black Friday?  Point made.  And, if it wasn’t bad enough in the past, now retailers have changed their traditional “opening at midnight” on Thanksgiving Day.  This year, many retailers have pushed their opening time back to 8:00 PM. 

Now, for all you Black Friday enthusiasts, you know that you MUST be in line early to get those Black Friday Door buster Specials.  So, if your family typically gathers for an evening meal around 6:00 PM – guess you will have to skip the family get together this year in order to get in line for the Black Friday openings at 8:00 PM. 

How long will it be until the Door busters are pushed back to noon on Thanksgiving Day?  That would give retailers an extra 8 hours to grab our money.  And, effectively KILL Thanksgiving Day.  How many Americans would consider that a great loss?

We can’t put all the blame on the retailers though.  Thanksgiving Day gatherings were already withering.  And, nobody will hold a gun to your head to make you skip that Thanksgiving Day dinner at 6:00  just to get in line for the new earlier sale times.  If you miss that gathering, it will have been YOUR personal choice. 

I think the bottom line here – and the problem in general – is that Thanksgiving Day lacks meaning for many people.  Maybe you just don’t see that you need to take a “special” day to give thanks for all your blessings.  And, you are right!  We should give thanks for all of our blessings EVERY day – not just one specific day of the year.  But – if we are thankful people – why on earth would we abandon a day set aside to give thanks?

Perhaps you say that you don’t have anything to be thankful for – there are many in that boat.  You lost your job, you lost your house, your wife/husband left, your child is incarcerated, your daughter is pregnant and unwed, you lost your car – the list goes on and on when talking about the problems people are facing today.  But – does that mean you don’t have anything to be thankful for?

If you lost your job – that means you are able to work – you have your health while others don’t.  If you have a problem with a child – at least you have a child – many people don’t.

You see – it all comes down to how we choose to look at things.  Even in the worst of times, we still have things to be thankful for and we should do so every day.  And, in the end, we all have one thing that we COULD be thankful for.  We could thank God that we are alive and that He loves us!

So – tell me – what does Thanksgiving mean to you??