I love the holiday season more than just about anyone I know. I love it because it gives me an excuse to buy gifts for people, hang out with my friends and, of course, eat food.
While I’m not alone in my holiday spirit, I feel that I am alone in my spirit for the holiday that is upon us — Thanksgiving.
As a person who dabbles in holiday decorating, I enjoy making my home look like it came out of a Better Homes & Garden magazine. I haven’t been able to do that because there aren’t that many Thanksgiving-themed decorations available. Instead, I am met with jolly Santas and Christmas fanfare at every corner even though all I want is a simple wreath or sign that reminds me to “give thanks.”
I will pull out the Christmas decor on Dec. 1 after Thanksgiving has had its full recognition, and I will be the annoying neighbor who blasts Christmas songs for a month. I am excited for Christmas, and I have a ton of decorations sitting in my storage closet until it is their time to shine, but I seem to be one of the only ones willing to wait.
I am not an expert on the Plymouth Rock colony or the first Thanksgiving feast, and I don’t want to be. I am not interested in its history because it doesn’t matter. What matters is that people begin decorating for Christmas on Nov. 1 without a second thought. Thanksgiving is pushed aside almost entirely.
Thanksgiving is a time to do exactly what its name suggests: give thanks.
I don’t know about you, but 2016 has been one large dumpster fire of a year, and it seems to have been made worse by a collective effort to focus on the terrible things that have happened. We have a negative attitude before we even give the future a chance to play itself out.
I encourage everyone to take a step back and be thankful for what you do have. Take a moment to tell the people you’re busy stuffing your face with at the table that you are thankful for having them in your lives.
If you have an interesting family dynamic and your family is more the “Thanksgiving clapback meme” type, then at least be thankful you have a home, a table and people to bicker back and forth with.
I am becoming increasingly concerned with society’s ability to forget the good and dwell on the bad. It hasn’t proven to work out well for us yet, so I’m anxiously awaiting the day that we learn to be grateful and work together.
In addition to the whole “giving thanks” thing, Thanksgiving is a time to work together and be together. Christmas shares this quality, but Thanksgiving is distinctive in that there is no gift giving. There isn’t that weird expectation to be cheerful because someone got you something nice. For Thanksgiving, being cheerful and positive is a direct reflection of what your soul looks like.
That sounds daunting and deep, but it isn’t. Being thankful and in a good mood and getting absolutely nothing material in return is something that is at the very root of the holiday — giving thanks unconditionally.
For me, Thanksgiving can be humbling because my family is rooted pretty deeply in the Christian faith. In that way, we aren’t only giving thanks for one another and the world, but also God and what he has done for us.
To us, that is where the thanks is due. Why would we skip out on a chance to thank him? It would be like Catholics ignoring the meaning of Ash Wednesday and Lent. Even if you aren’t religious, you still have things to be thankful for.
In short, this Nov. 24, I will be cherishing every moment I have with my friends and family. I will be grateful for the things in my life that I am fortunate enough to have, despite the things that I don’t have. I will make memories that I can hold onto when I’m older.
Notice that none of these objectives involve snowmen, Santas or reindeer.
Myia Hambrick is a 21-year-old mass communication junior from Temple, Georgia.