Yes, we are still in the throes of mourning the end of October and all things Halloween, but I’m going to talk about why I don’t celebrate the next holiday coming up:
Christmas.
Just kidding. Even though most stores have already set up their Christmas decorations and people have gone from pumpkin patches to Christmas tree shopping, there’s still one more holiday in between.
Thanksgiving.
[photo courtesy of VectorCharacters @ vectorcharacters.net]
Let’s start with the obvious. It’s a holiday for being grateful, for saying thanks and eating good food, and so on. What I don’t understand, is why can’t people do that all the time? For those of you who are religious, wouldn’t saying grace be enough? I’m extremely introverted so I spend more than enough time contemplating my life and all the things I’m grateful AND ungrateful for. I’m also more of a spiritual type of person rather than a religious person so that’s another point for why I don’t celebrate Thanksgiving.
“But it’s a time for family! To be with loved ones and—!”
That’s where things get tricky for me. My parents are divorced so you can say I come from a “broken home” (which only increases the stigma against divorce and children from single parent households, but that’s a topic for another article). Try getting them in the same room for a meal… I’d rather not get caught in the crosshairs. Both of my parents have either remarried or are in a new relationship, each having built another family unit (hello half-siblings!). It’s odd for me, being the last child resulting from their union, to intrude into either of their family spaces.
I would also rather not have to spend hours in a kitchen slaving away for some grand, expensive meal. Just thinking about having to go to the supermarket and battle with a housewife over the last turkey or bag of peas makes me shudder. The holiday and its festivities does result in some great leftovers that can LAST for quite a while, and I’m the first person to take advantage of them, but it simply isn’t meant for me.
Even companies are just forgetting about the holiday in general. Black Friday sales now start on Thursday, the day of Thanksgiving.
Schools use Thanksgiving to teach children to not be ungrateful by making hand-turkey cutouts and DIY pilgrim hats, which makes you question why can’t the parents just do that themselves on a regular basis.
Thanksgiving and everything surrounding it just isn’t for me. Maybe I’m bitter or just the Scrooge of Thanksgiving and I’ll be singing a different tune a few weeks from now, but unlike what others would think, I’m not ashamed of my dislike towards the holiday.
I will still stock my mini fridge with leftovers however.