November 19th, 2013
Volume 82 Issue 14
Arts
The Chronicle
B15
Giving Thanksgiving Its Moment
By NICHOLAS NEGRON Staff Writer Thanksgiving in the 21st century is a holiday that consists of food, parades, dog shows, movies, football and traveling. It has become a supposed celebration of peace, thanks and family isolated to one day out of the year. Is Thanksgiving truly given the moment it deserves? Is the message of Thanksgiving obsolete to the holiday? Once November comes, malls begin decorating with bright multi-colored lights, red ribbons, green wreaths, ornamented trees, and other Christmas-related decorations. Sales begin. Hallmark is filled with different holiday trinkets to put around the house. Perhaps snow has fallen already. The preparation for the economic celebration that is the holiday season has begun. Black Friday will see Americans wait in line, freezing, for a store to open at midnight. Hopefully, they have finished their Thanksgiving dinner early enough. Fighting amongst customers will ensue. Unruly crowds of people become eager, so they will begin to push and shove. Only mere hours before, these were the same people celebrating peace and giving thanks. This is very unintentionally hypocritical. The message of peace, love, and
thanks meant for the holiday is not only meant for one day out of the year. Thanksgiving was established as a national holiday by Abraham Lincoln to commemorate the first harvest in the new world in 1621. The feast lasted three days with 90 Native Americans and 53 pilgrims attending.
This Thanksgiving, remember what you are celebrating. Keep celebrating it. Being thankful is not something that should occur once a year. Many also see this as a religious holiday. “Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens,” said Lincoln on the holiday. Airports will be busier than ever. Millions will be commuting by plane or car to visit their loved ones. They will pay the price of a ticket or gas, increased on purpose for Thanksgiving. One of the other industries that benefits from Thanksgiving is the
MARJORY COLLINS/ FARM SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
Thanksgiving is an important, often overlooked holiday.
food industry. Supermarkets are stripped dry toward the end of November. The Food Network produces specials for the holidays with superstars such as Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, and Guy Fieri. Thanksgiving is the pinnacle event for the culinary capable. Holiday music is often playing in the kitchen while preparing Thanksgiving dinner. For many Americans, the day will not even include the staple dinner of turkey and the various fixings associated with the holiday. Instead, thousands will feast on hot dogs, chips, and beer at the various sporting events that will take place during the day. Hopefully, they have dinner waiting for them at home. If not, restaurants across America will be open with some sort of Thanksgiving special for the day. There is even an odd trend of having Chinese on Thanksgiving that has become popular with those not in the celebratory mood. Christmas music does not wait for Thanksgiving to begin playing, or even Halloween. Many artists release their holiday albums in October. Kelly Clarkson, Susan Boyle, Il Volo, the Duck Dynasty family, and more all released holiday albums this past October. Financially, it does not make sense to wait until after Thanksgiving to release a holiday album. The more weeks an album has to sell, the better. Radio stations also begin playing holiday music come November. Famous singers appear at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on floats to sing their hit songs, as well as classic holiday music. The parade ends with Santa Claus “officially” beginning the holiday season. The celebration will be in its 87th year come Nov. 28. The National Dog Show, shown directly after the parade, will be entering its 13th showcase. Christmas movies will have been in production for many months before the holiday season. Twelve new Hallmark Channel Christmas films are scheduled to debut throughout November
Cartoon produced by Dani Martinez. and December. Shockingly, a movie entitled The Thanksgiving House was made and debuted Nov. 2 on the network. The film is about a woman who buys a house in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and discovers that the very first Thanksgiving took place on the property. Holiday movies on the big screen this November include The Best Man Holiday, The Christmas Candle, Black Nativity, and the winter- themed animated Disney film, Frozen. Another Thanksgiving related film, Free Birds, was released on Nov. 1. The 3-D animated adventure follows time traveling turkeys aiming to take themselves off the Thanksgiving menu. Free Birds was expected to make most of its money over the Thanksgiving weekend, but a poor opening weekend gross
means it might not even be in theaters by then. Besides, are parents more likely to take their children to see a 3-D movie about turkeys or a quality Disney film about a snow queen? This Thanksgiving, remember what you are celebrating. Keep celebrating it. Being thankful is not something that should occur once a year. Remember your loved ones. Do not fight with the relatives you see once a year. Be happy you have the resources you have. Remember those who do not have as much as yourself. Perhaps donate to charity. Let the Thanksgiving table talk be meaningful. If you say grace before dinner, say grace daily. Do not tune the day out with electronics. Take the themes of Thanksgiving and cherish them in your mind and heart throughout the year.