It seems as if with every passing year that the day of thanks is increasingly becoming less and less important to people. Half in part to the unruly commercialism we experience around this time, Thanksgiving has taken the back seat to Christmas. The day to pig out and eat as much as you can is now overshadowed by largest commercial holiday. It is almost depressing to think about how much this holiday has changed throughout the years. Once a holiday that gathered families together now has those shopping leaving right after the meal to camp out for Black Friday deals. Since when was money more valuable than a strong family bond? Rather than good tidings on the minds of the people, they have good savings tattooed to the holiday. This needs to change in order to preserve the special feel that the holidays have.

I remember when I was younger that the majority of Christmas stations didn’t play music till after Thanksgiving. Now, you can find a station almost a two months before Christmas. What is the point of cherishing the holiday season if it lasts almost a quarter of the year? The holiday that gets hit the hardest is Thanksgiving. Now, more than ever, Thanksgiving is overshadowed by Christmas, as it is the top priority for the commercial and retail industry to target customers earlier and earlier every year. Rather than cherishing the country we live in and the family we surround ourselves with, we find ourselves looking for the best deals we can find so little Jimmy can get everything he wanted and mom and dad do not have to break the bank. I get the excitement that Christmas carries with it, but this overdramatic hurry to get into the Christmas season is destroying the very morals that the holidays were based on.

When else is it acceptable to eat as much as you can and enjoy your family while watching football? I reminisce about how excited I would get just to see my family for one day and have fun with each other. Now I have to fight off the commercials and ads of the Christmas season to fully enjoy the holiday. I remember a time when the smell of stuffing was something of sentimental value. Nowadays, all the fixings have been thrown to the side. Thanksgiving has almost become obligatory to the people of the U.S. It’s another weekend that interferes with the end of the year holidays. Maybe it’s time we pay attention to the temperature the turkey is roasting at and that the mashed potatoes have the best texture. Maybe it’s time we realize that the holidays wouldn’t be the holidays without Thanksgiving. Whether we are Pilgrim or Indian, it is time to understand the importance of Thanksgiving and all of its fantastic parts. It is a time to be thankful for the great land we live in and our family. Being conscious of what you have is what makes the holidays what they are.