Washington Week . Student Voices

COLUMN: Thanksgiving, also known as Pre-Christmas Day
By Mike Hart
The Daily Vidette (Illinois State U.)
11/15/2004

(U-WIRE) NORMAL, Ill. — Thanksgiving is still over a week away but a number of Americans have already completed their Christmas shopping for this year.

That might seem crazy, but it's the truth.

For the many Americans who have not yet completed their shopping, they have likely begun or at least will begin during Thanksgiving week.

The bulk of those shopping Thanksgiving week will be doing so Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving which holds the title of the busiest shopping day of the year.

In such a consumer driven society, one must wonder how well the busiest shopping day of the year and one of the most important traditions in America can coexist hours apart from each other.

Talk about the odd couple.

It's sort of like having Donald Trump sit next to June Cleaver from "Leave It to Beaver" in a semester long class.

This doesn't sound like a match that would work out too well.

The idea of Christmas essentially is the same as Thanksgiving, enjoying a peaceful break from work or school to spend time with family and loved ones.

However, it seems as if for many families the holiday gradually becomes more about shopping each year and less about the values on which it is based.

This consumerism is in a way an indirect attack on the family.

Instead of spending energy on conversations with relatives a person hasn't seen in awhile, many shop for all those mostly meaningless gifts that will be boxed, wrapped and handed over to a person who will in a few years likely forget who the gift even came from.

Buying gifts for someone feels good but having memories of time spent with them will be worth more than any gift in the long run.

This is especially true for college students, who spend most of their time away from their family at school.

Why spend part of Thanksgiving break battling traffic on the road and in a mall to shop for gifts for family members when a student could spend time with those family members during their time off for Thanksgiving break? Here's an opportunity to be with a parent or sibling, aunt or cousin, and instead a student is out looking for a gift for them for the next time they see them on Christmas.

Not to sound like Scrooge (Christmas is certainly an exciting time of year), but it doesn't make sense.

And with the ever-increasing consumerism tied to Christmas, Thanksgiving seems likely to slowly wither over time.

Of course it still remains one of the most important days of the year for most families in the nation, but most people from older generations will say its role in our society has changed a great deal.

In the past, if Thanksgiving was not on the same level as Christmas it was close to it.

Some could argue this is based on higher divorce rates splitting up families in modern society, but the fact that stores prepare so much earlier for Christmas now than they did decades ago seems to lead to a better explanation.

Stores like Hobby Lobby and Hallmark begin bringing out their Christmas material after the Fourth of July.

Take a few moments to let that sink in.

Christmas marketing begins in July.

How can anyone think about Christmas shopping during the summer?

This sort of obsession over Christmas shopping has made Thanksgiving merely a foreshadow to the December holiday in the minds of many.

If Christmas were a country the United Nations would send inspectors to check its weapons as its empire slowly encroached upon the smaller country of Thanksgiving.

Students should go home this Thanksgiving and hold it on the same level as they hold Christmas.

Spend time with families and value that time, especially for the sake of all those who are unable to.

Writing Thanksgiving off would be a smack in the face to soldiers who are stationed overseas and can't have that time to spend at home with their loved ones.

So sit down on Nov. 25, look at the exquisite turkey sitting in the middle of the table with all the sides surrounding it and be thankful.

Be thankful to have the time to spend with those you care about, one day they won't be there.

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