I couldn't believe it. There I was, standing in a home improvement store on November 1st, the day after Halloween, walking through aisles upon aisles cluttered with Christmas decor.
It was like a Christmas bomb had gone off. I could imagine the staff at 12:01am on November 1st, standing behind a safe barricade, detonating a tiny bomb. Tinsel, garland and sparkles fell all around in a flurry of fake snow. Bing Crosby's version of White Christmas echoed from the metal rafters. Plastic green trees popped up in rows, always perfectly round and fluffed, no messy turning to find the right side required. Ornaments hung in rows on displays, stockings made in China hung on plastic and cardboard fireplace mantels. "Tis' the Season" and plaques proclaiming "JOY" dotting the festive landscape. And let's not forget the giant inflatable Santa or his reindeer up top, waving to all the little boys and girls as they walk by with their want (I mean, Christmas) lists. Oh my, what a lovely sight to behold.
But I digress.
Because this isn't about Christmas.
Whoa. Wait, you say. This is the Christmas season! Halloween is over! Put together the tree! Hang the lights!
Slow your roll.
I took my son with me to town last night and was amazed at how many people had trees lit up in their large picture windows and balconies decorated with lights. My son, naturally, was very excited.
"Ooh, they're having Christmas! When will we have Christmas?"
I tried to explain that despite the decorations, music and ads on TV, that it wasn't Christmas yet. We would be getting our Christmas tree after Thanksgiving.
"Maybe they forgot about Thanksgiving," he innocently observed.
Yes, son, maybe they did forget about Thanksgiving.
This prompted me to ponder how I was going to teach my children about Thanksgiving, a valuable lesson that was so desperately needed in the wake of the Christmas explosion. But what was I going to teach them?
I'd grown up knowing that Thanksgiving was the beginning of the holiday season. It was a time for family to come together, to eat a great feast, to spend time together and to give thanks for all the blessings we've had during the year. It was about turkey and pumpkin pie and football and a warm house that smelled like cloves and laughter radiating from the kitchen.
After doing some research, I know what to teach my children about this "forgotten" holiday.
1) Thanksgiving is not an American holiday.
Celebrations of thanks can be found in almost all cultures and has happened long before the Pilgrims feasted with the Wampanoag tribe. Many cultures, including Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, would celebrate a successful fall harvest with a feast of giving thanks. There also wasn't just one Thanksgiving on a specified date each year, but whenever one was warranted. Usually, the feast ended some sort of fasting period due to limited resources.
2) Thanksgiving is a religious holiday for many cultures.
Who were people thanking for a successful harvest with this bountiful feast? Whichever god they believed in. It was truly a feast of giving thanks for all the hard work and good fortune that would allow them to sustain another winter or dry season, that would allow them and their children to continue living.
3) Thanksgiving has both political and economical aspirations.
Since English settlers first landed, versions of Thanksgiving were celebrated all over the colonies. It was typically in the fall to celebrate a successful harvest, or in the case of Puritans, whenever a feast of thanks was warranted. It wasn't until 1836, during the height of the civil war, that President Lincoln established Thanksgiving as the final Thursday in November. In his proclamation, he asked "all Americans to ask God to 'commend to his
tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or
sufferers in the lamentable civil strife' and to 'heal the wounds of the
nation.'" (http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving).
In 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt changed the date to the third Thursday in November to stimulate the economy after the Great Depression. This was solely to lengthen the holiday shopping period, so next time you want to blame corporate American for the commercialization of Christmas, hold your tongue. At the time, this was met with much opposition, and the holiday was moved back to the final Thursday in 1941.
By today's standards, the last quarter of the year is what makes or breaks most businesses. Black Friday has become a holiday all it's own, and as evident by this year, the scratching for more "economic stimulus" starts earlier than ever. Stores are now open on Thanksgiving in order to make a buck, and those people working are lured by that same buck with holiday pay and other perks. After working for corporate America, I can tell you that no matter how much the company says it is volunteer, it's not. Not everyone is allowed to volunteer, and if enough volunteers aren't garnered from the promises made, then voluntary becomes mandatory. This is part of the reason I left the corporate world to raise my children full time and to teach them that chasing the almighty dollar will not guarantee a happy nor productive life. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Okay, now I'm getting a little cynical. While this is the season of economic growth, I do appreciate that it is still the season of giving thanks. It has also become the season of giving. These are the things I will teach my children.
I will teach them to give thanks for our harvest of carrots, potatoes and onions in the cellar, of apples, zucchini and tomatoes in the freezer. They will give thanks for all the firewood we have to keep us warm during the winter. They will give thanks for the clothes on their back and the roof over their heads. I will teach them to give thanks to the Soldiers and Veterans that gave us our freedom. I will teach them to give thanks to the farmers and ranchers that provide us food.
I will even teach them to give thanks for their ability to go to a shopping center and exchange money for items. However, I will then teach them to give back by giving said items to those that need them. I will teach them to give to others, not because they have enough, but because no one should go without. I will teach them to help others, and not just during this time of year, but all year round.
The actual holiday of Thanksgiving may be on the verge of being forgotten, but the idea doesn't appear to be disappearing with it. Thanks have been giving long before a nationally recognized holiday, and it's up to me to teach my children to continue with that idea.
"Maybe they'll celebrate Thanksgiving after Christmas," my son said, regarding the house that already had the Christmas tree shining in the window.
What a beautiful concept. Sounds like I'm on the right track.
{P.S. - And for those of you that already have your trees and Christmas
decorations up or are already planning your Black Friday shopping agenda,
by no means do I intend to wag my finger. If the history of
Thanksgiving proves anything, it's that everybody has their own
traditions. I promise to also teach my children this. If that is your way of celebrating the season with your
loved ones, then please, continue those traditions.}
sources: Plimoth Plantation. Thanksgiving History. http://www.plimoth.org/learn/MRL/read/thanksgiving-history
History.com. History of Thanksgiving. http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving/history-of-thanksgiving
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