There is actually a holiday in between Halloween and Christmas. This forgotten holiday is Thanksgiving, and I feel that many of us fail to remember what this holiday should truly mean to each and every one of us. Candy Arrington, a writer for the Christian Broadcasting Network, said, “For some, Thanksgiving is a day to get a list together prior to a day of marathon Christmas shopping. Somehow our perception of Thanksgiving Day has gone askew. We’ve forgotten the reason for celebrating that first Thanksgiving! Gratitude for survival!” I do understand in some ways Thanksgiving could be seen as a reminder of the past sins of generations gone by and even possibly called politically incorrect. But I say that in this time of worldly unrest, there is great need for us all to celebrate our nation and highlight our differences, for we each have differences worth celebrating. I feel Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks to the Lord for helping us survive the trials of the past year. Some say the main reason Thanksgiving is quickly moving to the background is because of its lack of marketability. “Having survived through several years of holiday rushes from the retailer’s vantage point, I can honestly say people don’t come in asking where your turkey decorations are,” said Ronnie Highland, a Wal-Mart retail manager. “In fact, I remember last year I actually had a guy approach me and ask where they were, and I was half way through directing him to the Christmas decorations before I realized he had asked for Thanksgiving decorations. I couldn’t help but laugh, and I think I made him mad, because he thought I was laughing at him, but that really isn’t a very common question.” Having worked in the entertainment industry for over five years, I feel, while Thanksgiving is not one of the most marketable times for retailers, it is for the movie industry. Each year I have watched as a steady sea of moviegoers flood through the doors of the theatre and into their prospective auditoriums. Thanksgiving is quite easily the busiest time of the year for theatres everywhere. Now having said that, I have to wonder if our sense of holiday pride has really sunken as low as to be judged by how well it sells. I do not believe so. Thanksgiving is about seeing distant relatives you haven’t seen since the last family get-together and trying to sum up the happenings of the entire year into a short conversation that can be used to answer the same questions that will be asked of you hundreds of times by each relative, such as “how is school going?” Of course, it would be easier to just shout all the answers at the top of your lungs, but imagine all the dirty looks that would be thrown your way. You might even get more dirty looks than the eccentric family member that nobody likes gets just for showing up, admit it we all have at least one. Thanksgiving is about studying all the cute eccentricities of the family and realizing that it is because of these traits you turned out the way you did, and recognizing that you couldn’t possibly love them any more than you do. This time of sharing should not be forgotten. I understand that it is easy to get caught up in the rush to finish Christmas shopping before someone gets the last Tickle-Me-Elmo or somebody snatches up the last bottle of your fiances favorite cologne, but Thanksgiving is just as important as Christmas. This forgotten holiday is about hearing all the same stories as the previous years and just maybe getting to hear a few new ones. It is exclusively about family and friends, and there are no door prizes for being present. There are very few times that the world slows down, so take advantage of this breather. Don’t keep rushing and miss out.
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