I’m going to sound like an old lady in this post but what the hell…
In my day, things were as they should be. September was the month we all headed back to school. This did not occur in the middle of sweaty, hot and humid August but properly – after Labor Day. By the beginning of October, kids and teachers alike were settled into their routines and thoughts of Halloween sprung up as the homemade decorations of jack-o-lanterns and black cats filled the classroom walls and windows.
Halloween was not a commercialized holiday back then. It was an inexpensive, fun day/night where children could make their own costumes, grab a pillowcase and hit the neighborhood with visions of candy corn dancing in their heads. I was a punk rocker, a hobo, a princess who was made to wear a turtleneck under her gown and a ghost with my Daddy’s pipe. These costumes were all homemade or handmade and barely cost a dime. Back then, Halloween felt like a tradition rather than the money-spending frenzy that it does today. Once October 31st was behind us and our candy was checked and cavities fed, it was time to reflect upon and prepare for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving has always seemed to be the most pure holiday in the trilogy. No costumes, no games, no presents, no decorations – just families getting together to be together and to be thankful.
Thankful. I knew what it meant. I’m sure you did too. We knew that we should be damn grateful for having a huge turkey dinner with Aunt Sally, Cousin Mike and Nana in attendance. We rolled our eyes as we were forced to go around the table and each say what we were thankful for but we knew its importance. Many had to wipe their eyes and noses so a box of kleenex was kept close at hand. We were delighted to have a four day holiday from school and that the smell of the first snow was in the air. We were thankful. Oh yes, we were.
Every year, us kids all knew that the Monday after Thanksgiving meant Christmas decorations were on the way up. The malls began to decorate inside and out, parking lots full of pine trees would soon be on sale, shops put blinking lights in the windows and families unwrapped attic holiday treasures to display. It was thrilling to be a child and everything had it’s time and place.
Now it seems that Thanksgiving has gotten lost. Halloween has morphed into a huge money-making commercialized holiday second only to Christmas. The “Holiday Season” has been making its debut more and more prematurely each year. Why just last week I was in Target trying to find some last minute Halloween costume items and none could be found. Instead, the workers were busily setting up Christmas trees and blow-up snowman displays. I kept thinking, “Why can’t we just be patient?”.
So now that Halloween is over, holiday catalogs are cramming my mailbox full, pumpkin lots are making room for fir trees and Santa is already getting ready for his annual mall gig. Meanwhile, I think we’re being robbed. And what’s worse – we’re stealing from our children. Our children need and deserve a Thanksgiving. It creates and provides a necessary balance in their hearts and in their minds. It teaches that in this fall season of goodies and games and gimmies, just being together is the. most. important. thing. of. all. It reminds us to reflect upon what we have been blessed with and to say thank you.
A chance to say thank you. Why on earth would we ever want to overlook that?
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
You tell ‘em, sister. This is one of the best posts I’ve read anywhere in a long, long time. You’ve said it all and you’ve said it beautifully.
Hear, hear! You hit it right on the head. This needed to be said. Thank you.
Please pass those kleenex my way, thank you.
Well said!
I went into Wal-Mart (yuck..I know) on Halloween because I needed some glow sticks for the kids to wear that night…all of the Halloween stuff was shoved into shopping carts and the employees were busy stocking even more Christmas stuff. Needless to say I couldn’t even find what I was looking for because there was no rhyme or reason to the way everything was crammed into the carts. I ended up going to a dollar store.
Halloween has become increasingly expensive since my 6 yr olds were born. This year I spent $100 on three costumes! OUTRAGEOUS!!!!
I loved this entry. How true that is! I think that I’m going to make sure that our family has a real focus on Thanksgiving this year too!
Finally, someone else feels like I do! Two weeks before Halloween I went into JC Penney to get pants of the kids…and it was already completely decorated for Christmas and Christmas music was playing! It’s terrible and I don’t like it.
I’m with you! I do love Christmas, but Thanksgiving is such a nice holiday! I guess no one is making enough money on it so they have to skip over it. Sad, very sad!
Oops! I forgot to mention how much I like your autumn look!
Thank you for saying that.
A very good and needed entry.
Thanks for saying it!
Wow! Loved that. What a great post and so right on. I guess if we all get together and make a pact not to buy ANY Christmas decor, trees, ornaments, lights etc. until after Thanksgiving than they will stop putting the trees up so soon. You in?
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday of the year. This year will bring some truly wonderful ‘togetherness’ as we share the day with our Boston uncle/brother and Meredith and her new bunch of boys!
This will be a year to remember always! Thanks for being the perfect hostess!! (Glad to be able to pass the torch!) :lovestruck:
Very well written! This was a very thought-provoking post!
Wonderful post. I love Thanksgiving. Your blog is looking quite snazzy!
I so agree with you. Wal-mart and Target both had Christmas stuff out on Friday. sigh. And already commercials are playing christmas music!!! Friends are reminding me of ‘days left to shop’. SERIOUSLY..it’s insane. I used to really enjoy Thanksgiving, but as you said, it’s become a blip on the radar of making to Christmas. This year we are going to my In laws (recently moved 3 hours away..yey) and spending the night. I am hoping that as that puts us out of the family rounds we will have a chance to reflect and enjoy each other more. Thanks for the reminder!
Chris
href=”http://http://serendipitymine.blogspot.com/”>
Amen, Preach it sister!
Like Denise, I went into Target at 8:00 a.m. 10/31 looking for glow sticks.
Not a pumpkin or stick to be seen. And yes, school should start after Labor Day.
:thanku: You always say it best! No one is thankful anymore for anything because they are too flippin’ busy buying, wrapping, cooking, etc..so that they look good to other people! They are so busy that they forget what the holidays are about! Thankfulness, sharing, family, and togetherness. NOT rush to the store because we have to buy the biggest turkey or the best present!
I’m not a presenter, but if I were, I would totally nominate this for Perfect Post. You’ve said exactly what has been bugging me about the Halloween-Christmas holiday mania.
Julie
PS I refuse to call Thanksgiving “turkey day” because it is supposed to be so much more than that.
As a turkey baby (born at lunchtime on Turkey day close to 37 years ago), this is my favorite time of year. Or at least it used to be.
I agree. We have gone from celebrating it all to celebrating the money makers. Our Hobby Lobby started putting up the Christmas trees in …. AUGUST! :brickwall:
Amen! And I don’t see any comments saying that we NEED this extra time to get ready for Christmas. Perhaps the retailers should be reading this, and shove all that stuff back in the storeroom for a few more weeks.
TOTALLY agree. the Christmas season does not start until after Thanksgiving for me. Christmas will never override Thanksgiving in my home (and future home/family).
also, my brothers and i definitely had to do the “what are you thankful for” thing at the thanksgiving dinner table. i thought i was the only one.
Amen sister!
I agree with you 1000%. But, it’s the Almighty Dollar. The A.D. has taken control of our lives, our thoughts AND our holidays. How do we protest this commercialization? Lead us oh great MommaK.
I think that this just reenforces the fact that us monthers need to work even harder to keep Thanksgiving from being lost. We need to keep roasting that turkey every year and making it a well looked forward tradition and holiday for our family.
Hmm, maybe if Thanksgiving becomes lost in the shuffle it will remain just a low key holiday we can enjoy with our families without IT being part of the Christmas hysteria. It might end up with more meaning than it ever had.
I was at the mall on Saturday and the entire place was decked for Xmas, and the whole center area was all ready for Santa????
Nadine and I could not believe how early it had all gone up…so it is funny you posted this, I am glad it was not just us that noticed.
Thanks for the reminder!
I love Thanksgiving, and it’s tradition. This year we’re combining our two families which could be interesting, but hopefully it’ll contain all the right elements of good food, family and grateful moments.
I am so with you on this one. Once Thanksgiving dinner is eaten and afternoon naps from too much turkey have been taken all is fair for Christmas madness. I love Thanksgiving and all the ritual and tradition that comes with it. Like I have always said, this is my absolute most favorite time of the year. Thanksgiving is the gateway to the Christmas season and I enjoy it to the hilt.
This year for Thanksgiving I have discovered not only an incredible pumpkin for pies but also an amazing apple. We will be going to my in-laws for dinner but we are bringing the desserts.
One thing I have tried to do with my girls is spend some time reflecting on all the things we have to be thankful for. Again, this year, I am thankful for good people like you.
Here,here! Beautifully written post, Momma K- really excellent. Thanksgiving is still my favorite, canned cranberry sauce and all. It is synonymous with family and gratitude for what we have and our time with each other. Thank you for writing this one!
I totally agree! We are playing up Thanksgiving with our kids this year. I got a bunch of those craft things from orientaltradingcomany.com and we are having a ball making them and decorating our house with them. I really want to instill in them what Thanksgiving is about and not let it just get shoved out of the way for Christmas.
I always loved Thanksgiving as a child, and still do as an adult. Sadly, the almighty dollar has driven us to this point, where it is overlooked by everyone except the grocery stores. I do love Halloween, but it has become insane. Great post!
YES. Thank you for writing this. You don’t sound like an old lady at all. I think all of us are wistful about this.
What an amazingly well written post. Beautifully stated, and Miteymite is right – it needed to be said. I love this.
Beautifully said. One might even say that is is a…perfect post!
This post was right on! Thank you for saying what I have been feeling for a long time.
That’s one of the things I like most about my kids’ school, Thanksgiving is a big deal there. They have the children each select an American historical figure to portray and prepare a speech about, they teach them Thanksgiving songs–really hymns, go figure, and in a public school too? How is it possible?–and have a Thanksgiving feast where all the kids have hot lunch and eat appropriate food then have a parade in their character around the school. I love all the emphasis on history, tradition, gratitude and even religion.
You are so right!!! The stores used to decorate for Thanksgiving too – fall leaves and pumpkins. You rarely see that anymore.
Totally agree! But we are the leaders of our own life. So as long as WE don’t forget Thanksgiving in our OWN house and family….it will not be forgotten. That’s my plan at least.
Good point!
Have you also noticed that people send out their Christmas cards earlier and earlier every year? I’m surprised I haven’t gotten one yet this year!
AMEN! I refuse to let Thanksgiving dissappear! We downplay halloween & do more of fall deco, so it can stay up all the way till the day AFTER Thanksgiving. I love fall AND Christmas too much to let them melt together or bump one completely out.
Preach on, sistah! :thanku:
Agreed. Thanksgiving is totally lost. Halloween now launches the holiday season, which is all about CHRISTMAS! Gah!
[...] <deep breath> No more on that subject. If you’d like to read an excellent post , check out Momma K’s thoughts on this very subject, head on over to Petroville. Second — and the most minor complaint of all — is that they have changed Holly Hobbie. They might as well call her Polly Pindowski, because she is nothing like the bonnetted prairie girl I grew up with. The only resemblance is a few freckles across the nose. Yes, I feel old now, and that’s just adding to my frustration. [...]
Ya’ll should switch to the Canadian Thankgiving in mid-October!
Seriously, you’re completely right. By December 1st, I’m stressed about money and time to do everything and all my “thank yous” are spent.
[...] Here’s the list of this month’s winners: Berklie awarded Troll Baby Mamaritaville awarded My Ovaries Made Me Do It Never That Easy awarded Halloweenlover Oh, The Joys awarded The Sour Kraut ChildsPlayx2 awarded Cynical Dad Troll-Baby awarded Athena Dreaming Happily Ever After awarded A Deviated Path Scribbit awarded Mental Tessarae Artificially Sweetened awarded A Shot in the Dark The Silent I awarded Dante’s Inferno with Children Masked Mom awarded 24/7 Lady M awarded Life: The Ongoing Education Mommy Has a Headache awarded Steve Novak Our Life Together awarded Not That You Asked Something Baby Blue awarded Girl’s Gone Child Mom on a Wire awarded Her Majesty’s Throne Stolen Moments awarded Cheeky Lotus Little Bald Doctors awarded Mommymatic Tracey (Mother May I) and Notes to Self awarded Jen Lemen Digital Father awarded Redneck Mother Chicken and Cheese awarded 24/7 The Mummy Chronicles awarded Izzy Mom Miss Cellania awarded Golden Lucy’s Spiral Journal Local Girl awarded Mommy Needs a Mai-Tai Pass the Torch awarded The Dust Will Wait Six Kids awarded MotherPie At Home in Rome awarded In Search of Dessert Artist By Nature awarded Petroville Mom 101 awarded Women Having It All Notes from the Trenches awarded Journey Mama Pointless Drivel awarded Jabbering in My Jammies Hectic Mom awarded The Underpaid Kept Woman Suburban Turmoil awarded The Anti-Social Event of the Season Petroville awarded Mamacita [...]
Absolutely necessary thoughts. Thank you for saying this and thank you, when you could write almost anything you want and people would read, thank you for saying what needs to be said. I feel like I preach people away from me, but really, if you can say this much with so many people reading, I think we all need to give each other a thankfullness lecture now and again. I certainly needed it.
YES! I couldn’t have said better myself, for many reasons… but you hit the nail on the head.
Beautifully said, thanks for sharing it.
:thanku:
You are so right!