Give Turkey Day a Chance!

my yearly rant

Published on November 18, 2004 By KarmaGirl In Current Events

Last year I wrote an article about why Christmas drives me insane. It can be found at: http://karmagirl.joeuser.com/index.asp?aid=608

Well, guess what? This year is even worse. The stores are absolutely packed with Christmas stuff. People are now following the stores and are already decorating. There is even a local radio station that is playing Christmas music 24/7 (they used to start this the day after Thanksgiving, but changed it this year).

GIVE TURKEY DAY A CHANCE!!!!!

Being that I am not religious, but I am American, I believe that Thanksgiving is an important holiday. It is a holiday that we give thanks for many things, many of which were made possible because of the wonderful country that we live in. But, for some reason, we are accepting the over commercialization of Christmas taking up Thanksgiving's real estate. Where are the Thanksgiving decorations that used to adorn the stores? Why is Thanksgiving now given less shelf space than Valentines day? What is wrong with this world?

To top it off, my community changed their "Christmas in the village" date. It was usually the last Saturday of November. Well, they have a night time parade the night before (we'll save how stupid that is for a different article) which involves the school children (yes, small children parading at night was a brilliant idea to begin with....) Anyway, since the last Saturday is the Saturday after Thanksgiving, they figured that the attendance would be down, so they moved it. They didn't move it into December so that it was actually close to Christmas. NO! That would make sense! They moved it to this weekend- the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving!

Each year just seems to get worse and worse.......

When it gets closer to Christmas I'll start the debate over "Christmas: Christian or Pagan? And, why do we decorate a tree?" That should be fun, right? LOL

Comments (Page 1)

KarmaGirl

on Nov 22, 2004

Sniff..sniff.....

It's true...nobody cares about Turkey day anymore....

JillUser

on Nov 22, 2004

I had some of the same thoughts when I heard Christmas songs on the radio and saw a Christmas tree at a restaurant the day after Halloween. We went from kicking off the Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving to the day after Halloween? When did this happen?

dharmagrl

on Nov 22, 2004

I know I'm tired of seeing the Christmas stuff in stores already.

I like Thanksgiving. It's not a holiday I grew up with, so I suppose it's still a bit of a novelty to me. I like all the food, people coming together to break bread and share time....I like that it's a day for reflection on the past year(s) and all the good that has happened.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year.

Yay for Turkey Day!!

JillUser

on Nov 22, 2004

Thanksgiving has been a very important holiday for me especially in the last decade. Nine years ago I lost my grandpa on Thanksgiving day. Almost exactly a year later I gave birth to my first child. So Turkey day marks both one of the most painful events of my life and one of the most incredibly wonderful events. My son seems to have some sort of link to my grandpa too. I caught him crying one night and asked him what was wrong and he replied "I never got to meet great-grandpa". Through teary eyes I told him that that makes me sad too because I know they would have really enjoyed each other. I was profoundly touched that a then 6yr old would think something like that.

So Thanksgiving is a bitter/sweet day for me each year. It is a reminder of the worst heartache I have ever experienced and how much I miss my grandpa but it also reminds me of how very lucky I am to have my family. I have had more to be thankful for in 34yrs than most will have had in 100. That is why I resent Thanksgiving getting a driveby for Christmas.

Before you get Merry about Christmas, remember to be thankful on Thanksgiving!

KarmaGirl

on Nov 23, 2004

We went from kicking off the Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving to the day after Halloween? When did this happen?

On Halloween day I went to the store to pick up some candy to share at the office and the Halloween stuff was already being put in the "50%" off bins and Christmas stuff was being stocked. Halloween wasn't even over and they were on to Christmas.

My husband is a real grump this year about all the Christmas music and everything being played before Thanksgiving. And I agree when he says "we'll be sick of it by the time we should be starting to enjoy it".

I think that it all just plays into commercialism. The sooner you start shopping the more likely you are to keep buying.

Thanks to everyone who responded, and I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving this Thursday!

Zoomba

on Nov 23, 2004

Despite every attempt made by stores, radio stations and the media at large, I *refuse* to acknowledge the Christmas season until one very important event takes place.

Santa goes by in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Once he shows up and passes through the square, then it's officially Christmas time. But until then, I have one thing to say to all the stores, restaurants,radio stations, tv stations and people decorating their homes:

BAH HUMBUG!

dynamaso

on Nov 23, 2004

Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Australia, for obvious reasons. Not that we don't have a lot to be thankful for, because we do. I kinda like to think that everyday should be a Thanksgiving Day of a sort. I guess this perspective for me means I constantly remind myself to be grateful for all the things that make me happy. It also means I can eat Turkey whenever I damn well please

I too believe Christmas has become a garish, commercial exercise. A supermarket chain here started playing carols and advertising decorations in mid-October. And that is just one example of the crass commercialism of the season. One of the most irksome aspects of all the products they sell is the images they use to sell them in Oz - all wintery scenes, snowmen, sleighs, massive feasts of roasted meats and vegetables etc and us Aussies sweltering in the Summer sun.

I.R. Brainiac

on Nov 24, 2004

Yup,as I got older Thanksgiving replaced Christmas as my favorite holiday.

KarmaGirl

on Nov 24, 2004

wintery scenes, snowmen, sleighs, massive feasts of roasted meats and vegetables etc and us Aussies sweltering in the Summer sun.

That's pretty funny! You know, even the US doesn't all get snow, so I'm not sure why they use "snow" as the universal "Christmas" scene.

crass commercialism of the season

That gives me an idea for next year's Christmas card! "May the crass commercialism of the season touch you heart all year long!"

I.R.B.! Nice to see you! I agree, Thanksgiving is a great Holiday. My husband was saying that he rather get more time off at Thanksgiving and less at Christmas. Of course, if we started focusing on Thanksgiving, the stores would start pushing "Turkey" decorations, corn lights, and "gifts" appropriate for the day. They already have cards, so they at least have their foot in the door

Lily Maddox

on Nov 24, 2004

Bloody hell, its about time someone said something. I think Thanksgiving should be almost more important than Christmas because it gives EVERYONE in our country a chance to express their love for one another without being bound by any spiritual beliefs or sagas. Its a lovely day that even my drunken aunt Judy finds a way to enjoy. My family puts up loads of thanksgiving decorations that my younger sister and I made when we were younger.. and we can proudly hold our heads high saying that we dont put our tree up until the second of December. You have awakened my Thanksgiving patriotism.

dynamaso

on Nov 24, 2004

May the crass commercialism of the season touch you heart all year long!"

Karmagirl: I would love a t-shirt saying this. As for the cards etc., when companies try to do something more indicative of the weather, the imagery ends up being a cartoon, bare-chested, overweight Santa, with sweltering reindeers, standing on a beach in shorts. Not a good look, let me tell you.

Texas Wahine

on Nov 24, 2004

Kinda like this?

dynamaso

on Nov 24, 2004

Texas, yes, kinda like this. See, Karma, I told you it was not a good look. Can you imagine a version of this dropping down your chimney. Children would be traumatised for the rest of their lives...

Sleeping Dragon

on Nov 28, 2004

Been said a few dsifferent ways, but to be redundant, both Christmas and Thanksgiving have spritual roots. But Christmas is now about the pocketbook (profits for retailers, presents, decorations) with many trying to hold onto the thread of spiritualism, while Thanksgiving is about the heart. In this day and age, the former will always win out. It will only get worse. So thank you for this article, KarmaGirl. It gives me hope for one of the best days of the year!!

KarmaGirl

on Nov 28, 2004

Children would be traumatised for the rest of their lives...

Forget the children *I'm* traumatized!

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