By Grant Gierhahn ‘20

“There is beauty in simplicity.”

Without question, Thanksgiving embodies this aphorism to the core. It’s a holiday for simple individuals- low fan fare, cherished family time, football, and, perhaps most of all, superior grub. However, due to Thanksgiving’s place on the American calendar, the Christmas season’s utter hysteria often overshadows Thanksgiving’s unique characteristics.

Thanksgiving seems more underappreciated now than at any other time in America’s history. Fittingly, sales over 2019’s Black Friday weekend set record high marks across the board, registering $69 billion in total.

Increasingly, people get lost in the true meaning of the Christmas season, due to all of its ostentatious gifting aspects.

But that’s impossible with Thanksgiving. The holiday is genuine and straight to the point. There’s no fake appreciation. There’s no stress. And there is certainly no pressure, particularly in regards to gifts.

Thanksgiving is a model of transparency. So much so that the day has become notorious for political arguments. But who cares? We’re all family, right?

Above all, Thanksgiving serves as a designated time for retrospection, where one can truly gauge what in life they are grateful for. What in one’s life is of serious value that others’ lives may lack?

Bottom line: emphasize the “thank” in Thanksgiving. In the end, those you truly appreciate should take precedence over material items.

Sources:

https://fortune.com/2019/12/02/black-friday-shopping-cyber-monday-record-spending/