Here in Canada, our Thanksgiving has already come and gone.
In fact, I believe it happened while I was wandering around India in a sweaty haze.
But as the U.S. Thanksgiving ads ramp up, filling our airwaves & our magazine stands with the quest for the perfect holiday, it’s hard not to think about it again. Apparently, buying furniture, and other pay-later Black Friday items, is key to achieving Thanksgiving nirvana.
Yet, in spite of the aforementioned advertisements, one of the reasons I love Thanksgiving is that it is the only holiday I can think of that has somehow not been co-opted by Hallmark.
There are no cards. There are no gifts to give or get. No over-the-top lawn displays.
Just good food and hanging out together. What a concept!
Now. I’m not totally naive. I get that we throw extra Martha-ish pressure on ourselves to make fancy leaf shapes on our pumpkin pies, and there are people getting carried away with the perfect cranberry sauce and I’ve noticed some cards sneaking into the store displays.
But, for the most part, it’s just about feasting and being thankful…together.
And for that, I am truly thankful. Amen.
Great blog Colleen. Do you believe that this is the first year I’ve even been aware of Black Friday?! Have I had my head in the sand on the Sunshine Coast or what? Guess I just wasn’t paying attention. But we can’t judge too harshly as Canadians get just as crazy on Boxing Day – that’s when I hide under the bed and eat all my Christmas chocolate ;0)
Hey Andrea…that’s actually a good thing that you’ve missed the whole Black Friday hype. Long live the head-in-the-sand approach to life! And I think your response of diving under the bed with good chocolate is the right thing to do (in reaction to just about anything actually 🙂 Thanks for dropping by and commenting…Happy Thursday!
I am really paying attention to my inner equilibrium. When I see all the consumer commercials my gut tells me: this will make your soul sick. I like giving things that are made by someone in our family or someone we actually know wherever possible. Hard for teens/tweens but for everyone else… definitely!
I like that idea of “paying attention to my inner equilibrium”. There is something so satisfying about creating and/or giving something of real value…
I love living in a small town in the middle of nowhere. No Black Friday madness for me! I did, however, receive a Thanksgiving card from my insurance agent. 🙂
Ah well, I guess there are worse things than getting a card about being thankful!
The only sad thing about Thanksgiving this year is that the stores have decided to extend their Black Friday madness, some opening at 10 pm on Thanksgiving day. Sounds great for bargain shoppers chomping at the bit to get that one DVD player advertised in the flyer for $1 — but what about the employees? They have to forego the family gathering on Thanksgiving day to get some sleep before the crazy night of shopping frenzy. Seems very unfair.
So, I’m boycotting Black Friday. No shopping for me. And many others are doing the same. It was enough that those workers had to get up at 3 am to open the doors to the masses…but now they can’t even enjoy, as you said, the one holiday that is truly about feasting, being thankful…and spending time with family.
OMG Gwen. I had no idea that the whole Black Friday thing was so out of hand. Way to go on the boycott. I love it! Those are ridiculous hours so people can buy a bunch of crap they don’t need or afford. Take back Thanksgiving!
I agree. I wish we had more holidays that were less focused on consumerism. I try to ignore all the Christmas hype until after Thanksgiving is over.
Good plan Becca. This year our plan is to give the gift of experience instead of ‘things’. Tickets to movies, plays, skiing, or whatever…
Last year we gave gifts of micro-credit through www.kiva.org. That has turned out to be a huge hit as everyone is always checking out how their various loans are going…pretty cool concept.