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Holiday turnaround too hasty
By Whitney Hancock
November 26, 2007 | Brace yourselves, people. The holidays
are here. Christmas lights are popping up on houses
in your neighborhood.
It's a winter wonderland window display at Hallmark.
Candy canes and big bells hang from the streetlights
on Main Street. Candy is wrapped in red, green, and
gold foil on the end of nearly every aisle in the supermarket.
Is that Christmas music playing at Michael's craft store?
Yes, Christmas is most certainly in the air.
But wait, wasn't all that happening on Nov. 16?
It inevitably happens year after year. On Nov. 1,
when Halloween décor is removed from the stores, it
is immediately replaced by Christmas trees, lights,
and giftwrap. What about Thanksgiving? I have always
wondered why poor Thanksgiving gets the shaft. Why is
it completely overrun by Christmas every year?
I am here to plead for Thanksgiving. Why shouldn't
this national holiday get the recognition that it has
earned? We celebrate Thanksgiving to remember the Pilgrims
and their survival as they settled this country. They
feasted to give thanks for their bountiful harvest after
a particularly harsh and trying winter. Do we not, too,
have reason to feast? Do we not have cause to celebrate?
For me, Thanksgiving is a time of reflection. It is
a time that reminds me of all the many things in life
for which I have to be grateful. This is what Thanksgiving
should do for all of us. Why is that we do not always
embrace this opportunity to express our gratitude for
all that we have? It's not just about the food, even
not just about the family togetherness. It's about the
gratitude.
In my family, we have a tradition with dried beans.
Each Thanksgiving, after dinner sit around the table,
amid empty plates and half-drunk glasses of cider, and
share what we are grateful for, one for each dried bean
in front of us. It undoubtedly ends with tears and hugs.
Sappy, I know. But I look forward to it every year.
So why do we not look forward to Thanksgiving? Why do
we not see cornucopias and stuffed turkeys and pilgrim
hats? Why are jack-o-lanterns and cobweb decorations
immediately replaced with mistletoe and Christmas angels?
Let us not forget Thanksgiving. Let us not let this
opportunity to show our gratitude pass us by. How about
we save the carols and Christmas lights until at least
Nov. 23?
NW
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