Thanksgiving 2012
In the past, the day after Thanksgiving was the official starting point of the Christmas season. Christmas has been arriving earlier of late. November 1st is now the “First Day of Christmas.” The Countdown to Christmas at Walmart is posted right after Halloween, at any rate. I often hear people complain that Thanksgiving is forgotten, but is it really forgotten if you are thankful for your blessings?
The fact that we are a one-income family has made me very thankful for our current prosperity. The word prosperity is a relative term. For me, It is a joy to take my kids to McDonald’s on Saturday afternoons, or to buy them fall clothes, because there was a time when even simple things like that were financially difficult for us. So no, I never forget to be thankful for the things that other people take for granted.
However, I do enjoy the merging of the holidays. I will not let the grinches of the world squash my joy. Lately we have been decorating for Christmas a day or two before Thanksgiving (may it never be, they say!). That way we can enjoy the long upcoming weekend. On Thanksgiving morning we watch the Macy’s Day Parade together, then we have a Thanksgiving lunch that would make Norman Rockwell proud. After that we clean up and get ready to go Black Friday shopping. Since we live in the lowcountry the weather is often unpredictable. Maybe I will wear my Christmas sweater to the stores, or maybe it will be a Christmas t-shirt and flip-flops. As we bargain hunt, we usually stop by Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks and buy a Christmas-flavored coffee.
I don’t get caught up in whether or not Starbucks writes Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas on their cups because my family knows that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus. That knowledge makes a longer season filled with things like family, turkey, being able to shop for Christmas presents, and peppermint coffee a great thing. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
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