Okay. I get it. We live in a country that is practically obsessed with Christmas. And I understand why. Kind of. The lights, the giving, the spending time with family, the snow, candy canes, and music. Oh my goodness, we cannot leave out the music. From Silver Bells to Silent Night even to some joke of a song about a penguin that Brad Paisley released, Christmas music creeps its head into airwaves shortly after kids go into a sugar coma the night after Halloween. All through November we slowly begin seeing red decorations with white lights and Doorbuster sales preparing for Black Friday and that treacherous shopping season of December.
Okay. I get it. It is so much better to spend $199 for a new digital camera than $249. And this year, I see that the Black Friday fun begins at 6 PM on Thursday, creating extra time to shop for Christmas! FINALLY! I have been waiting for those extra 8 hours of Christmas deals for so many years. (I hope you can sense the sarcasm through text.)
But there's something I don't get.
In the chaos of Christmas, consumerism, and caroling, why have we forgotten the season of being thankful. The month of November has become this awkward time of full beards and the waiting period for the Christmas season. Sure, we may share some turkey with family and tune in to see the Packers kick off on Thursday afternoon, but what about true thankfulness.
It seems like every year someone brings it up.
Let's go around and say what we're thankful for!
And it's quickly shot down as some playful joke.
Why is it so hard for us to say what we're thankful for? When we are sitting in a house, with the heat on, clothed with the latest fashion, eating a delicious home-cooked meal, surrounded by people who love us, and having money in our bank account to have the option of spending $199 for a new digital camera, and we still get embarrassed at the very reason we come together on that 4th Thursday in November to GIVE THANKS.
Stop. Breathe. Be Thankful. Take a moment away from the Black Friday (Thursday) ads and allow yourself to be thankful for all that you have. Considering you have the ability to read this (period) on a computer (or iPhone or whatever) means you have plenty to be thankful for.
And after Thanksgiving, listen to every Christmas song you wish, and decorate your yards like crazy with lights and fictional characters, but allow the season of thankfulness to not only exist during its "official" time in November, but throughout the Christmas season as well. After all, we allow Christmas season to exist during Thanksgiving, right?
