Give Thanks

I love Christmas. Let it be known now. I do. The lights, the smells, the mad rush to get it all together and spend a couple of terse hours with loved ones wondering if they are going to love your presents as much as you hoped and dreamed only to crush said dreams with a half smile that is obviously fake.

Why I am referencing “insanity” in the title of this blog post? There are several reasons. Probably more than several. Christmas is so commercialized these days. We barely celebrate Independence Day and if you are in the right store, you will find goodies put out to spread holiday cheer. What a better way to say “I feel so accomplished” than starting your Christmas shopping in July?

I was in Target today and right beside aisles of Christmas decorations, there was a whole section of Halloween goodies on clearance. I never saw anything that said “Give Thanks” in reference to the Pilgrims who valiantly came to these shores in order to escape religious persecution and helped found this great land I call my country and home.

Have we forgotten Thanksgiving entirely?

I know that it hasn’t been, but I have wondered if it is just an afterthought. That time of year that signals the mad rush to finalize your Christmas purchases.  

Sorry if I sound so cranky.But, what happened to enjoying the Season? Spending time with family? Not going to the mall when it opens on midnight on Black Friday to push and shove your way to a harried frenzy only to grab the latest and greatest toy? I just don’t do it. It’s not worth it.

So here I am, trying to get ideas for the upcoming holidays. I know I should be coming up with this stuff, because, well, it seems to be what people want. My husband gets incredulous at hearing this, blathers for a few minutes (or a few days – he could either filibuster a piece of legislation or he should’ve tried out as Raymond in “Rain Man”) about how all of this holiday promotion shows how our holidays have no soul left, and that since people in this country are horrible at math and science, we’ve lost all ability to reason.

But all of his rambling does very little in the grand scheme of things. Targets, Gaps, Home Depots, and the malls are still going to put out holiday displays even though Halloween merchandise is still on the shelves and given what my blog covers, I still have to cover these things. But it’s hard to find inspiration when all you want to see and do is this: