Thanksgiving Comes First
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
This cranky opinion is a re-run from last year
The following is the opinion of a cranky old man. Opposing opinions are welcome, they are wrong, but welcome, and please no name calling…that means you, you big stupid head!
A Mr. Jim Sully of the blog “Suldog” fame http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com/2013/10/thanksgiving-comes-first.html has a bug up his butt on the early commercialization of Christmas.
I say rightly so!
I realize stores need to make money and The Christmas Season often makes or breaks many establishments but the decorations and Christmas music before Christmas dilutes the Holiday. This early start to Christmas also diminishes Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is a great holiday and it should not be pushed aside before Christmas. Perhaps the solution is to change some traditions which would give the merchants their season sales, honor Thanksgiving, and halt the dilution of Christmas. What am I suggesting?
Gift giving on Thanksgiving!
Yes, on Thanksgiving all the kids, grandkids, spouses, and parents should exchange the (new) Traditional Thanksgiving Gifts. This would generate some real Thanksgiving excitement. Think of it…what a glorious day it would be…football, turkey, sweet potatoes, pie, stuffing and STUFF!
An extra gift giving holiday would give merchants a boost without diluting Christmas and would at the same time add some new luster to a great holiday.
Gifts would be left around the highly decorated corn stalk tree. Little children would sit on the lap of the “Great Turkey” at the department store and ask for their Thanksgiving Gift. New Thanksgiving songs can be created and Justin Bieber can record the first Thanksgiving album.
“Deck the bird with Grandpa’s ax head”
“We Wish You were much more Thankful”
“Giblets Smells”
“Have Yourself a Merry Little Drumstick”
We could celebrate this holiday in school until atheists figure out that the Pilgrims were not really thanking the Indians, but in fact they were extremely (gasp) religious folks who were thanking (double gasp) GOD!
If we created the tradition of gift giving on Thanksgiving people would not be able to prepare for Christmas until after December first, a manageable and reasonable start to the Christmas season.
I support Suldog’s cause of not starting the Christmas madness until after Thanksgiving. I think we can accomplish this by making Thanksgiving almost as big a deal as Christmas.
The preceding was the opinion of a cranky old man, and not necessarily that of management...Mrs. Cranky.
The preceding was the opinion of a cranky old man, and not necessarily that of management...Mrs. Cranky.
From a woman's point of view, the thing about Thanksgiving that is so great is that it is all about FOOD --NOT presents! Do you realize that would make TWO holidays within a month of each other where we would all start going crazy!!! MY proposal that Christmas only come around every 4 years, since it is such an OLYMPIAN event every year, is I think a much better solution...
ReplyDeletePresent shopping for one holiday is bad enough. But TWO? I'm a purist. I think Thanksgiving is the day for us all to be grateful for football, just like the Pilgrams intended.
ReplyDeleteS
Thank you, sir! Excellent piece (but, of course, you're an excellent writer, so that comes as no surprise.)
ReplyDeletegiblet smells. ha ha.
ReplyDeleteHave that here as well - Christmas décor was out over a month ago in our local shopping centres - Crazy!
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestion--& that would give us extra time to shop for Groundhog Day & the ides of March!!
ReplyDeleteSo no gifts on Christmas? Maybe that would work with an extra fat goose to compensate...
ReplyDeleteThanksgiving is my favorite holiday. However, I am a pescatarian. It is becoming harder to find turkey-shaped mahi-mahi.I think gift-giving would be a great idea.
ReplyDeleteThis is one thing the Canadians really got right--like the metric system. Have Thanksgiving the second Monday in October. The pumpkin is fresher, travel is easier and the stores can decorate in Thanksgiving orange and then slide into Halloween.
ReplyDeleteOoh ...metric holidays?
ReplyDeleteI kinda sorta wanted to see the gifts at July 4.
What I mean is this whole entire commercialization of the holiday is pretty much an American invention, right?
So let's celebrate it on the really true American holiday.
At our house all of the major holidays ...and many non-holidays ...are about food.
We go as batshit crazy crazy on Christmas (maybe even more so) as we do on Thanksgiving or St Patrick's Day.
I refuse to allow merchants to spoil the holidays for me. I can shop when I want or if I want. I'm a big fan of choices. I do have a problem with people being forced to work on holidays unless employees choose to do so. Many are lonely at this time of year and when I was a store manager there were many employees who preferred working the holidays.
ReplyDeleteWell, I think this is a most scathingly brilliant idea. From the tassel tree to the Thanksgiving carols to the Great Turkey, you have it all scoped out. Let us not forget the added revenue of Thanksgiving yard lights and blow-up displays.
ReplyDeleteJim brought me here! And I thank him for that. You are "gifted"!
ReplyDelete