The Forgotten Holiday
As I walked through Meir and Frank on October 24th workers were busy decorating the store for the Christmas season. I mean, “deck the halls with boughs of holly”… but in October? Has everyone forgot about Thanksgiving? Whatever happened to being thankful and realizing all you have before the greedy holiday comes? Everywhere you look its Christmas time already. You walk into a store, or the mall and decorations of the December holiday surround you like the swat team. Christmas catalogs are being sent to every mailbox, and lights are appearing everywhere. Christmas carols are being heard from the whistles of old men, and even from our local radio stations. I can’t blame temple square for starting early as they have over 800,000 lights to string, but do we really need to have Christmas carols being played so early that we get sick of them before December is even here? Can’t the stores wait until the week before Thanksgiving to prepare their store for the biggest shopping day of the year? Can’t we enjoy one more holiday before Christmas takes over? Whatever happened to Thanksgiving anyway? Where you sit back surrounded by family eating some good grub and remembering the things you are thankful for. Unfortunately it seems there is no longer time to be thankful, we must rush into the season where we don’t count blessing, but rather count how many gifts we receive. Christmas if full of giving as well, but can we really be in the spirit of giving if we don’t realize how much we have to be thankful for? Thanksgiving was first celebrated in America after the pilgrims had gathered their first harvest, and it was celebrated for three days. Here we are in the same country and we can’t even find time to celebrate it for one day, or even a couple of hours. Some people even choose to do their Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving day, once again forgetting one of the most important holidays by skipping to the next. Here are a few ideas to help you remember to celebrate the forgotten holiday. * Bake a pumpkin pie* Visit all the turkey farms in Manti * Send a thank you note to someone who has impacted your life* Go bowling and get three strikes in a row (know as a turkey)* Write a list of things you are thankful for* Go on a cruise and pretend you are on the Mayflower* Make Indian and Pilgrim hats and walk around with them in a popular public place, perfect for a date!* Host a neighborhood turkey bowl, an intense game of touch or tackle football* Donate food to the Utah food bank* Organize your own Macy’s day parade* Make sculptures out of mash potatoes and gravy* You can even be traditional and gather the family for a thanksgiving feast.
Those are just a couple of ideas, but be creative! This holiday can be one of the most fun and memorable if you put your mind to it! November has begun, please remember the forgotten holiday.
Camille RogersHuman Development and Family Studies Major