Walking through town on an early November morning, I discovered an interesting phenomenon. My town is bipolar. And one of the poles is the North Pole.
In a span of five houses I walked past, two still had Halloween pumpkins on their front steps. Two already had Christmas decorations. The other house apparently was owned by the Swiss.
For the record, my home at this writing is behind the times, still displaying pumpkins. This is one time, however, when procrastination could turn practical. If I add a few corn stalks, voila! The pumpkins now are Thanksgiving decorations.
And that would be rather unique. Because not on that street I walked nor any other have I thus far seen a pilgrim, turkey or cornucopia. Not that Thanksgiving was ever a big holiday for decorations, but once Halloween is done, we seem to dismiss its aesthetic possibilities so we can hang the icicle lights before we get actual icicles. Thanks to this year’s Veterans Day snowfall, the early Christmas decorators have every right to look smugly upon the rest of us.
The early snowfall seemed only appropriate because Christmas ads greeted us before Halloween this year. Some radio stations (including one in Milwaukee) switched to all-day Christmas music on Halloween. "Christmas creep" has now conquered the entire month of November, swallowing Thanksgiving whole but not falling asleep on the couch after the meal.
Once upon a time, Macy’s declared the unofficial start to the Christmas season when Santa Claus showed up at the end of its Thanksgiving Day parade. This year, Macy’s really means it, as they are one of a growing list of retailers that will open for business Thanksgiving evening. They’re pikers compared to Kmart, though. While the folks from Macy’s are spending Thanksgiving morning flying balloons down 34th Street, Kmart will be welcoming shoppers starting at 6 a.m.
I am a little sad to see Thanksgiving become little more than a shopping holiday. Like a football team looking past a lesser opponent on the schedule to focus on a big game, Thanksgiving seems now to be simply the opening act for the main event a month later.
For Christians like me, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Lord. And when I view the day in that intended context, it is indeed sublime. But when it comes to the type of Christmas season that even Charlie Brown decried, well, no thanks, I prefer Thanksgiving. No commercialism to speak of, no worrying about gifts and shopping, the only tradition is to eat yourself into unconsciousness. And when there are no other distractions associated with the holiday, one can focus on what’s really important -- spending time with family and being thankful for our many blessings.
The only potential interruption to the festivities is when the Packers play on Thanksgiving, a tradition that I wish would go away. I am a devoted fan of the Packers, but I don’t like to see them intrude on one of the rare days when most of my family is together. If any Packers fan needs yet one more reason to love Vince Lombardi, he prevented the Packers from playing on Thanksgiving for 21 years. If only Ted Thompson could wield that kind of influence on the league office.
It appears that this year’s Lyke family Thanksgiving will include, out of a possible 28 attendees, 27 members representing four generations, our biggest gathering in years. I am not one who is fond of crowds, but I am greatly looking forward to this one. The opportunity to gather in this way is why I like Thanksgiving so much.
As for decorations, I have the perfect plan for next year. In October, I intend to put up a turkey dressed as Santa carrying a jack-o’-lantern. That should cover me for three months.
1 comment:
And if the turkey is wearing red and green, you are also covered for Valentine's day and St Patrick's day as well. Give him a sparkler for new years eve and you will have half the year covered. -- arlo-crankshaft
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