By Debra Houston | I’m miffed, and it has nothing to do with 20 people coming to my house for Thanksgiving dinner. No, I love the holiday and all that goes with it.
I love dusting off old issues of Southern Living each year for inspiration on recipes, decorating, and hospitality. I hang an oversized harvest wreath in my kitchen and on the porch door. From the jungle of my basement, I dig up Puritan figurines, unearth Puritan stuffed bears, and nearly trip on a stone Puritan man grimly holding a musket; he will guard the hearth. My husband will carry up the heavy brick turkeys (use your imagination). From the top of my fridge I bring down the whittled wooden head of an Indian chief for the centerpiece on the kitchen table. The little ones always get a kick out of him.
To say I go haywire over Thanksgiving is an understatement. It comes in autumn, my favorite season, when cool dry air dips south and energizes me. And of course, the holiday makes me count my blessings.
So what has got me so miffed this year? They renamed Thanksgiving! Read on.
I drove through Old Lilburn this week and found Christmas lights draping the town. I saw a decorated Christmas tree, for goodness sake! I shopped at the supermarket to piped Christmas music. Later at home, television ads of toys and gift ideas assaulted me. I called a friend for perspective. I hoped I hadn’t interrupted her dinner. Not at all, she said, she was decorating for Christmas.
Did I fail to get the memo about skipping Thanksgiving this year? It’s almost as if the holiday is out of vogue. Shouldn’t we take at least one day to humble ourselves into gratitude?
Merchants are the culprits. Among American holidays, Thanksgiving doesn’t involve gift giving, unlike Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Halloween. It’s a hard for merchants to link toys, jewelry, and candy to Thanksgiving. They can’t stand the idea of you sitting around and stuffing your face, not when everything is MARKED DOWN. Forget kinfolk, tradition, and — well, thanks giving. On the contrary — go shopping and bring the whole family.
Whatever you do this Thanksgiving, please remember to show gratitude for what you have and not for what you expect to buy on Black Friday Eve.
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