Plus, it's almost time for Thanksgiving. My most favorite holiday!
I'm not sure exactly why I ended up with this particular holiday as my favorite, I just know I love it. The wonderful smells of fall food, a good parade, a good football game, a loud family and SO much to be thankful for. Well, I guess those are my reasons.
Like most everyone out there, I've noticed some Christmas decorations in stores around town, and I've even looked at some of it, however, I have been standing by my "I will not decorate for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving" tradition. I just don't want to skip over my favorite holiday in anticipation Christmas.
Except this year...well...I'm just a tad bit disturbed.
I heard on the news last week that several of the nation's largest retailers had decided to, instead of the usual Black Friday madness, open their doors on Thanksgiving evening. Hmmm. Well, whatever, I thought to myself. I certainly WILL NOT participate in the craziness on the day after Thanksgiving. I'll be home cleaning up the previous day's aftermath and putting up all my Christmas decor!
But then yesterday I got into my car after work, and three radio stations in a row were playing Christmas music. Um, what? We still have over a month until Christmas, people! Heck, we still have over a week until Thanksgiving!
Yeah, Thanksgiving! Remember Thanksgiving???
That's the problem. I don't think we remember. In fact, I think this nation as a collective whole has one of the shortest memories anywhere on earth.
Thanksgiving was originally celebrated on account of a good harvest. A good harvest for a people who had literally been through hell. They had been persecuted in their native land. They had made a long and arduous journey to a new place where they felt they could begin again. Many of these Pilgrims had died during this process; even more had become so ill that their lives would never be the same. And before they experienced friendship with the Indians, they lived in immense fear of them. But just as they thought they could not go on, the harvest came. It probably wasn't a bountiful one, one that we Americans would look at today and be in awe of. In fact, it probably wouldn't have looked like much at all to the overindulgent race we have now become. BUT THEY WERE THANKFUL. They were so thankful they stopped everything they were doing and celebrated. And we carry on that tradition today.
Or do we?
I imagine that, even though the economy is a negative on the "good-o-meter" right now, they had it worse. In fact I know they did. When was the last time someone has threatened YOUR life because of what you believe in? When was the last time YOU uprooted your family and moved to a completely different country because you had nothing left at your home? When was the last time your entire family was so plagued with illness that the majority of them died, and the rest of them were so weak they weren't even the people you had known since you were born?
But we whine because all our investments are gone.
We have a job, but we hate it and curse it whenever we get the chance.
We're upset because our house is worth nothing.
We moan at the price of gas, the price of food, the price of going to the movies.
We protest in the streets over the unfairness of life in general.
We cheer when bad people are murdered...unless we're busy rioting when they're set free.
We pitch a fit over not having any money, but we run people down in the stores in our greedy rush to spend everything we have...on a day that we should be THANKFUL.
We forget from whence we've come. We forget how blessed we really are. We've forgotten far too much, I fear.
It's time to remember.
It's time to be humble.
It's time to put away the negativity.
It's time to cease the slander.
It's time to flee from greed.
It's time to be at peace.
It's time to give grace to others.
It's time to be THANKFUL.
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