Christmas sweeping Thanksgiving under the rug
By: Ramsay Campbell
When Macy’s Department store began having an annual Thanksgiving parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving was considered the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Then, in 1960’s the term “Black Friday” came about. The term referring to the records indicating a profit (notated in black) during the Christmas season instead of the customary losses (notated in red) during the rest of the year. Ever since that time, Black Friday has grown into what it is today. Mega sales, lines a mile long, and people fighting over products that they thought they didn’t need the day before when they were “thankful” for everything they have.
Thanksgiving is a day of thankfulness: for your family, roof over your head, and food on the table. The homes of almost every American are brimming with family and food. Even those who don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in the traditional way, stop to be thankful on this day. Then as soon as the table is cleared of all the turkey and stuffing, we are ready to go out to shop. Some stores are now open late on Thanksgiving night. Retail workers around the country are taken away from their families and dragged to work and will work through the night into Black Friday. Shoppers will leave their warm homes to shop for the best deals, gathering possessions along the way. Meanwhile three or four hours ago, they were celebrating everything they have, and not what they don’t have. Then they make the long hike to the stores to fill their homes with unnecessary things that they never considered needing during their hour of thankfulness.
We should stop making Christmas our number one priority before we even have the chance to celebrate Thanksgiving. Some already have Christmas trees up, lights on their houses, carols ringing, and gifts already wrapped. The Lufkin Mall even has Rudolph the Red Nosed Pumping Unit and Christmas decorations out. Americans are so eager to celebrate a holiday that involves receiving gifts, that they completely overlook Thanksgiving. At the very most people recognize Thanksgiving as the symbolic beginning of the Christmas season, and not as the day of thankfulness that it should be. Should we be allowing Christmas to sweep Thanksgiving under the rug?
Black Friday is the traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season, but we have to remember the meaning of Thanksgiving. We should count our blessings everyday, especially on Thanksgiving day. We shouldn’t be out shopping for more possessions, an action that speaks that you are not happy with what you have, on a day that symbolizes thankfulness.
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