‘Tis the season to be thankful. That’s right, we haven’t hit the jolly portion of this year yet.
Although taking a quick scan of your surroundings will probably prove otherwise, Christmas is still 40 days away. Why everyone is so eager to ignore poor Thanksgiving with increasing gusto every year is beyond me.
Thanksgiving is a combination of all things that are good on this earth: thankfulness, family, friends, football, food and food-induced comas.
The only major issue Thanksgiving has is its historical inaccuracy. By now, most people know the first Thanksgiving wasn’t quite like the pilgrims and Indians play you performed in second grade. It was much darker and more savage than what those hand-traced turkeys could ever suggest.
While the source of the holiday is problematic, the sentiment of being grateful should be the focus of Thanksgiving. Christmas also has some historical inaccuracy issues about the likely birthdate of Jesus and its pagan origins, but that’s a whole other discussion.
One of the main reasons people seem to favor Christmas over Thanksgiving is very simple — presents. Don’t get me wrong; presents are like bacon bits in the salad of life. They’re awesome, but doesn’t that seem selfish when spelled out?
“Let’s skip past the holiday where we do almost all of the same activities as Christmas but don’t get the presents. But seriously, where are my presents?”
While that may be an oversimplification, it’s all I can think when people are ready to deck the halls on Nov. 1.
An obvious solution is to give each holiday toward the end of the calendar its own month of celebration. October is for Halloween. November is for Thanksgiving. December is for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa.
This is a pretty basic concept, yet the Christmas season seems to start earlier with each passing year. To misquote Walter White, “Stay out of other holiday’s territory.”
Speaking of the various holidays in winter, Christmas overtakes the other non-Christian celebrations. Although politically correct efforts have sprung up in recent years, the holiday season is still synonymous with Christmas.
At this point, many of you may be crying “Grinch” at me. I don’t dislike Christmas. It’s a great, beautiful holiday filled with joy, booze and new gizmos.
However, the overzealousness of some people’s celebration schedules leaves a bad taste in my mouth. And as the good book says, patience is a virtue.
Also, I will admit I’m biased because my birthday usually falls near Thanksgiving. Everyone wanting to skip my birthday just isn’t OK, y’all.
But seriously, where are my presents?
Taylor Schoen is 22-year-old communication studies senior from Metarie, La.