Rebranding - In Defense of Thanksgiving

Well, I did it. I broke my rule about no Christmas decorations going up until after Thanksgiving Day. In my defense, this was really more of a practical decision. My sweet husband is going along with my crazy plan to have not one but two Christmas trees this year. For the past few years, I have had a white tree with ornaments in funky blues, pinks, oranges, purples, and greens. And I love it! But my more traditional better half wasn't as big of a fan. So we have compromised with a gorgeous green tree in our front living room and my white tree will go up shortly in our den. So that we could get both trees up while I'm home this week for Thanksgiving break, getting the green tree set up and decorated early was really the only way to accomplish this. But I do feel bad.

I feel bad because, in a lot of ways, Thanksgiving Day is like the red headed stepchild of holidays. I ran into WalMart on November 1 to pick up some things for supper only to be greeted by a giant Christmas tree in the front door. A week or so before, I had stopped by Dollar General to buy a "Happy Halloween" door mat I had seen earlier. To find it again, I had to pick my way past the Christmas decorations and gift suggestions that were already proudly out on display! I am not a grinch nor am I a curmudgeon. I love Christmas as much as the next person. But I feel like Thanksgiving is just so under appreciated because it lacks the flash and pizazz that marketers and stores look for to convince us we want or need things. The only reason some have latched on to it is to offer good shopping deals a day earlier than usual, forcing people who ordinarily would not have to work to do so.

Maybe Thanksgiving is such an important holiday precisely because of its lack of pomp. It is simple, uncomplicated. Thanksgiving, at its heart, is a holiday about reflection, appreciation, family, and friends. Yes, we get to enjoy some delicious foods we only get at certain times of the year. And there can be stress involved, for sure, as there are with so many things when expectations get in the way. But, truly, Thanksgiving doesn't require the gifts, the trappings, the decorations that we sometimes get caught up with for other holidays. It just asks for a grateful heart and a reflective mind to look back over the previous year and assess all of the things for which we have to be truly Thankful. In that spirit, Happy Thanksgiving! And I promise not to decorate any more until Friday!