Holiday Rivalry

With Thanksgiving looming right around the corner, many are getting ready for their holiday plans. Many still are already discussing another holiday, though. Christmas. Of course, you don't need me to tell you which holiday is the focus of so many. You've probably already complained to yourself or a friend about the annoying premature appearance of Christmas decor or advertising. Or maybe you've already found yourself humming along to the "elevator music" style Christmas song playing in a public place.

"Why?" is the question that many are asking. What is the reason for the push of Christmas right in the face of Thanksgiving? I realize that holidays aren't people and that it doesn't make a lot of sense to personify them but, but Thanksgiving should be really offended right now. Jodi and I were driving through town and were noticing that many things were going straight from Halloween to Christmas. Where did November go? The City of Springfield has already started illuminating the snowflakes on streetlight posts downtown and possibly elsewhere. Christmas lights are starting to light up more and more homes as the day to give thanks nears. Jodi even spotted a Christmas tree in one home while we were sitting at a stoplight a few blocks from our house.

I've heard a theory on a friend's blog that I have to say makes a lot of sense. Many people think that businesses are advertising Christmas early for the sole purpose of getting people to buy more earlier so that they'll buy more in the long run. While this does make sense and is no doubt one of the bigger reasons for the early push, this theory suggests that it is not the main reason. It suggests that the biggest reason is to purposefully distract from the holiday of Thanksgiving and, in turn, secure the materialistic thoughts in the minds of the consumers.

The whole premise of Thanksgiving is a chance for family and friends to get together and acknowledge all that they have to be thankful for. This very idea undermines everything that Corporate America has worked so hard to build over the last century in the minds of Americans. If we truly get the idea of Thanksgiving, most of us would realize that we have too much and that our friends and family have too much, as well. These feelings would resonate into December and we would suggest ways to get around the materialistic trap of Christmas' gone by. We would place value on what matters, spend less, stress less, and maybe even enjoy the Christmas holiday in ways we never knew we could.

All the big money-makers over the Christmas season would take a measured blow to their forecasted sales bubble. So, how do they fight back and prevail over this possible nation-wide contentment? They help you forget about Thanksgiving. They get you so focused on Christmas that families just wind up using Thanksgiving as a meeting to decide on what everyone wants for Christmas. Out with "Thanks" and in with "Please". No one asks, "What do you need for Christmas?", they ask what you WANT.

I'm not immune to the materialism that I speak of. I, too, have wants. But, I am very content with what I have. I recognize that what I do have was not awarded to me because of my deserving accomplishments for many people who deserve much more have much less, but rather I have been blessed with what I have and will continue to be very thankful for it. After all, the possessions that I value the most can never be purchased at a department store nor lost in a catastrophe.

Posted in: family,friends,truth