From October to January America is in full holiday mode. From Halloween to New Years, the celebrating seems never ending. We start with candy for the kiddos, lavish gifts on them for Christmas and then end the whole season with a midnight toast on new years.
What we all too often forget, scrunched between all the sweets and gift giving, is the nearly forgotten day of Thanksgiving. The one holiday many ignore. It is simply a day off to overeat and watch football. When I was growing up Thanksgiving was a very special day. The family all got together and worked together to make the huge meal a success. Aunts, uncles and grandparents showed up to visit having not seen them since the Fourth of July or longer and the family caught up on all the family gossip while setting the table or mashing the potatoes. Cousins ran around out side playing until they inevitably found something they shouldn't have gotten into, yet still did. While parents were not happy at the time, often these events became the stories of future Thanksgivings. Many great memories were made.
In today's world of cell phones and restaurants that are open on Holidays, Thanksgiving is far too often a trip to a restaurant where people are paid to make your meal and the family association are largely squeezed in before or after the game, parade or other such entertainment the individuals desire. Little time is spent sharing recipes, or trying new ones for your loved ones to critique. Family members spend a short time in a restaurant and try to catch up over the chewing and drink refills. Children spend their spare time on a cell phone or Game Boy and don't seem to play as much.
Then there is why we have Thanksgiving. It is quintessentially an American Holiday. Much of what the original day was about has been lost over the years, partially due to time but also partially to those who did not like the idea of giving thanks to a God they did not believe in and thus made efforts to rewrite the history of the day. However, what harm is there in a day of the year, that happens to be squeezed between two holiday to spoil our children, for us to give thanks for the ability to gift our children with all we give them. Perhaps you do not believe in the Christian God, but there is no reason you cannot be grateful to what you do believe in. Be grateful for your having the ability to spend the money in between two other big holidays. Having the ability to prepare a huge meal, or pay someone else to make one for you, should be something to celebrate. Many do not have the ability to spend that kind of money on one meal. Should you just look down upon them for that or celebrate that you are fortunate enough to have the means?
We often complain of how ungrateful our children have become, why not take one day out of the year to teach them to be grateful for what they have? Don't believe in God, fine, teach them to be thankful for your good job, or whatever has allowed you to be so blessed. Perhaps with one day of gratitude, to whomever you wish to give it to, we can all make America a more grateful and less hateful nation.