Why is the holiday of expressing thanks to family and friends concealed by expensive, made-up Santa Claus? Has love for Christmas spun so out of control that Thanksgiving has been forgotten? When Halloween ends, we’re left with two major holidays on November 1- Thanksgiving and Christmas. The controversial debate of when to start Christmas arises as soon as jack-o-lanterns are thrown away. Some agree that those infamous holiday carols should be shouted to the rooftop. Although Christmas is such a beloved and enticing holiday, Thanksgiving is important.
Thanksgiving has values and traditions that are different from Christmas. Thanksgiving consists of a plethora of food being set on the table for you and your family to enjoy, with those memories and traditions that hold much value. I have a dear memory of my grandmother around this time of year: Every. Single. Year. She would ask me to make leaves with various fall-colored construction paper and write our names along with the leaves, a paper turkey, a fall wreath, and other table arrangements. At the same time, she taught me about the traditions and culture of our ancestors. Afterward, we would watch Charlie Brown. We did it together and didn’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to enjoy the holiday. On the night before Thanksgiving, I would see her and my mom take turns cooking all kinds of unique dishes: potato salad, upside-down pineapple cake, dressing, and the stars of the show, turkey and ham. After we ate, they would save it all and bring it to those who did not have food the next day. Those traditions and memories taught me to be genuinely thankful for what I had and, when I could, give to others. Thanksgiving deserves its time to be celebrated by itself. People deserve time to make and celebrate traditions that represent their appreciation for one another. We should celebrate Thanksgiving in honor of its history and the values instilled in us for being thankful without presents.
Thanksgiving beats out Christmas any day of the week. Because the spirit of giving thanks and being thankful, no matter the case, is always there. Christmas is only beloved because of superficial reasons and misplaced values. Christmas is supposed to celebrate the higher power you serve and the giving spirit. However, that spirit has been lost over the years. So many problems result from Christmas, financial woes, family arguments, and other issues that could easily be avoided. The pressure that Christmas places on families is out of place for such a beautiful holiday. Though it’s nice to receive presents, many people have put those presents over the intended meaning of family. Thanksgiving’s got to come back. Just maybe, if we put more emphasis on the holiday, some of the real Christmas spirit would return because of it.
Feel free to disagree, but the true values of Christmas have been lost, even to the point of running into and taking over Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a beautiful holiday with even more beautiful traditions; we cannot risk losing it.
