FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK: Christmas takes over Thanksgiving

Posted on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 10:19 am

I don’t know when it became standard to start dragging out and assembling Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving comes and goes, but it bothers me.

Before some turkeys can even hit the oven, stockings are toasting over the fireplace. It reminds me of a line from “Shawshank Redemption”when Brooks made parole after decades in prison and wrote back to his friends that “the world went and got itself in a big hurry.”

We seem so anxious for the next thing in life. Instead of enjoying family time, turkey, football and leftovers, people all too often seem ready to plug in the Christmas lights and rush for the “Black Friday” deals.

I am not one to speak. Christmas decorations will inevitably be up around my house before Thanksgiving. But that won’t be my doing (I’m learning to pick my battles). I’ll be part of Black Friday, too. I can’t afford to not be. It’s worth diving over a few people and recovering stocking-stuffer items like loose fumbles to make sure everyone is happy and smiling Christmas morning.

But I hope most folks remember to have some of those smiles for Thanksgiving, too.

We have plenty to be thankful for, don’t we?

Thanksgiving is not lost in meaning, either. Christmas is all too often lost in presents and gifts we just assume are coming.

Thanksgiving seems much simpler. No presents – just fellowship and enjoying as much food as we dare to shove in our mouths. That’s a benefit not afforded to everyone across the world. Unfortunately, that’s not a benefit afforded to everyone across this country, or even this town.

But the meaning is still the same. It’s a time for thanks. Even if our blessings are small, they are our blessings.

Christmas can wait a few more weeks. No matter how hard we try, the days will still move at the same pace. So enjoy the time. Be thankful for your blessings and don’t forget Thanksgiving.

-Josh Peterson is the editor of the Manchester Times. He can be reached by email at mteditor@lcs.net or by telephone at 931-728-7577 ext. 105. Follow him on Twitter @joshpeterson29

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