By Jillian Brooks
Staff Writer
I personally adore the holiday season. From Halloween all the way through New Year’s, the spirit is high and the weather is cool. I’ve recently noticed, however, that Halloween continues to become more and more popular, while one special day seems to go largely forgotten.
I remember when Halloween was just a day of dragging screaming kids around in the back of a minivan while wondering how much their cavities were eventually going to cost you.
Now, people of all ages are dressing up and getting in the spirit of All Hallows’ Eve. More and more people than ever before are putting inflatable pumpkins, fake cobwebs and green witches out on their lawns.
And, before the Halloween candy is even unwrapped, Christmas trees go on sale, colorful, glass ornaments are pulled out from the back room, and plastic reindeer are taken down from the attic and ready to be placed on the front yard.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas.
But, what happened to Thanksgiving? Why is it skipped over by most of society?
There’s no plastic turkeys, no pilgrim costumes, no Thanksgiving treats served for weeks in advance. Thanksgiving is a day of fellowship with your family and friends.
We sit around a table, laughing and talking while eating amazing food. We all talk about the things that we are thankful for, then we go outside and tackle each other in a great game of football.
So, with all that family merriment, why does Thanksgiving only get a measly few hours of holiday fun?
Black Friday could be the answer to that question. Black Friday occurs within a few hours of giving thanks for the things that most of us already have.
On what is supposed to be a day of showing thankfulness, people instead rush out to an array of stores with a tidal wave of other shoppers.
They fight each other for an item that they must have because it’s $2 off what it normally cost. People charge down the aisles of Wal-Mart, still practically clutching a freshly cooked turkey leg in one hand while fighting someone over a waffle iron with the other.
I mean, we just gave thanks for what we have, and now we are going to punch an old lady for a blender?
Personally, I find something wrong with a society that places so much value on “stuff.” We need to focus more on what we have rather than what we need to buy to make someone else happy.
I’m not even sure why Black Friday even exists. People have died trying to get products for loved ones to open on Christmas morning, and I just don’t see a point to it.
I believe that we need to completely disregard Black Friday, even though some people can’t seem to live without it.
We need to remain in a thankful state of mind for longer than an hour. It’s important to appreciate the things we already have and the special people in our lives.
Always know that what we have, someone else might only dream of, and that is a good reason to be thankful.