NO! NO! I DID NOT MEAN CHRISTMAS!
This has been bugging me for years now. It seems as though as soon as the Halloween candy goes on sale, Santa's little elves start decorating the department stores...
I'm not a grinch. I'm all for Christmas. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE Christmas. I am a self-proclaimed Christmas elf, and anyone who knows me knows that I go all out. I insist on having a tree every year (even if it's a little Charlie Brown-ish), I decorate the apartment, I dress up, I attend as many holiday events as possible, and if I'm listening to music- it's of the Christmas variety. However, none of this begins until THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING.
Ok, so maybe I listen to Christmas music a little earlier, and maybe I start planning a little earlier as well, but when it comes to the actual celebration, Thanksgiving comes first.
I grew up in a house where Thanksgiving was important. It came with its own unique set of traditions. There is nothing- NOTHING- more special than waking up on Thanksgiving morning to the smell of the turkey that my mother has woken up at 5am for just to put in the oven. My dad is always up by the time I'm up, and he's got the paper out with his morning coffee. No matter what the temperature, there's always a fire in the fireplace. The dogs are always running around (if they hadn't been the ones to pounce on me and wake me up). My sister is usually the last to get up, and by 9am, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is on tv. Even in the 4 years I was in marching band, and had to get up extra early to go to the Thanksgiving football games to perform (memories of frozen fingers on the field, and crying from the cold...yeesh!), we always had a recording of the parade so we could watch it.
Thanksgiving is important to me, and I know it's important to other people. It reminds us of simplicity and thankfulness. There were people who came over from England with all the supplies they could, not fully knowing where they were going, not knowing how long it would take to get there, not knowing if they would even survive the trip (many didn't). Those same people endured so much with NO TECHNOLOGY (as I type on a computer), only being able to rely on each other and their faith in God. How many people do you know who are that brave? How many of you can say that you've been through something like that?
Life was simple. The pilgrims used what little resources they had to live. Thanksgiving should not be looked over by a holiday that has turned into a season of glitz and commercialism and gluttony. Thanksgiving is the balance. It is there to remind us of what we have, before we start giving for the sake of giving, and receiving.
So before you start posting on Facebook about how you can't wait for Christmas, remember that there are those of us who want to remember Thanksgiving, and celebrate the humble beginnings of this nation, and what sacrifice people made to give us what we have now. Enjoy the fall foliage. Read a little about the history of Thanksgiving. Do a good deed in the name of Thanksgiving instead of Christmas. And for goodness sake, be thankful for the present.
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