Thanksgiving and Everything It Stands for Is a Joke - Comments

I completely agree with you.

I don't think Thanksgiving and what it stands for are a joke. I think people just lose sight of it when they go gaga for the big sales. And the sales are expanding into Thanksgiving itself these days, which just means more people are stuck working and away from their families.

I love Thanksgiving for the same reason I love most holidays: Because I genuinely do enjoy getting together with family and friends. And even though most people trampling each other over Black Friday gifts are probably the same people claiming to be thankful for what they've got the day before, keep in mind that not everyone giving thanks on Thursday will be trampling one another on Friday.

I think...in some ways you're right about people not being able to afford gifts being more thankful, and in someways not. I mean, I definitely think (as a person who has been consistently too poor to afford Christmas presents) it does make you acknowledge the little things more and be grateful for the simple act of being with family, because you don't get the sales to look forward to (though I personally don't care for them regardless). But at the same time, when you CAN afford gifts...personally, I'm always grateful for the ability to do that. Because when you can't afford to buy, all you do is receive, which can either make you want more stuff or can make you feel guilty. This year I can afford about a $30 present for each member of my immediate family, and I had to save for months to be able to do that, and I'm really grateful for it.

I guess all in all I agree with a lot of what you say in your blog, but I feel like your frustration might be a little misdirected--I feel like it's the sales that are a joke, and that what Thanksgiving stands for is still a pretty nice sentiment that people tend to neglect or abuse because they're so focused on those once-a-year bargains.

@ aubree james.

Well in your opinion it doesn't contribute. But in MY opinion it obviously does. and if you find this blog to be negative, then stop commenting.

@ Cashews
Maybe is only a conjoining word and really doesn't contribute much to the quote either way? At least in my opinion. Either way I think you should cheer up. There's no point in being negative, it's the holiday season. I feel like picking fights on Mibba is a giant waste of time when you could be celebrating with your loved ones! So go cheer up and eat some turkey for your Canadian neighbours? (Who have to wait around until Christmas. #sadface) :) Seriously, go ignite spirit!

@ vaporwave
I think it's kind of nice that we have some sales. I mean it is the weekend before December so I get to do some Christmas shopping on my student budget (which I am always thankful for)! I've actually never participated in Cyber Monday! It's a bit of a new thing right? I think there's something to be appreciated about window shopping, especially in Toronto! I also don't like that when I do buy stuff online I have to pay duty for it because it's from the states. Kind of defeats the purpose?

Okay I'm still doing my hair and I wasn't planning on commenting on this but I feel there is one comment I need to set straight because little details like that annoy me.

@ kuvira

I like how you decided to quote a line from my blog and purposefully started it at the word "the" thus missing what's now a keyword "maybe." As in

Quote

MAYBE only the people who can't afford to buy something this year are the ones who are truly thankful.

Not only that, but in doing so you made it look like I said it to be fact which I don't appreciate.

I love Thanksgiving. I see family members I haven't seen in awhile, and I eat great food and we have an even greater time. The fact that Black Friday is the next day doesn't change that. Besides, I'm sure a lot of people are just shopping for gifts when Christmas comes around for those same people they spent Thanksgiving with.

"...the people who can't afford to buy something this year are the ones who are truly thankful." - No. That's not true at all.

I do agree however, that people whore out their stories too much for comments, and that being said, I highly dislike the comment-swapping forum. People are concerned with getting comments on their story even though the person who is commenting probably just wants a comment back, or in some cases, people just want comments to make their story seem like a lot of people read it and like it. Now that is a joke.

@ aubree james. Yeah, American Thanksgiving is way different from Canadian and other commonwealth nations' Thanksgiving. I think it largely has to do with that fact that it's in early October so it's not stuck between Halloween and Christmas. I don't think I've ever seen Thanksgiving-related sales for our holiday, so it's basically a long weekend that's too cold to stand outside and get drunk and set off fireworks. :P

I love massive sales on just about anything (who doesn't) but they've just gotten so out of hand that, yeah, at least one person gets killed every year. And Black Friday has become a thing in Canada, too, and it's only a matter of time before we get that bad. Only there's no holiday attached to it, it's literally just a big sale for no reason that all big stores participate in. It's pretty ridiculous.

Axe Black Friday, keep Cyber Monday lol. Nobody will get killed at their computer, and our credit cards are already hating us at this time of year.

Thanksgiving should just be about arguing with your family, drinking too much wine, and eating dinner at 3PM for some reason. Rinse and repeat for Christmas (which being less than a month away for Americans was always a little odd, to me.)

I think that in a way, I get what you're saying here. Thanksgiving in America in certain towns all over has become a joke and all about financial gain. The holiday Thanksgiving itself is not the joke, the greed that people show around that time is a joke. People are more concerned about getting the best deal and shopping than they actually are with being thankful and appreciating family and non material things like the holiday used to stand for.

It's saddening to be honest. It's gotten so bad that America itself seems to just skip over Thanksgiving as an important holiday anymore. That's why when Halloween ends, the immediate next day Christmas decorations and stuff is on sale. There's only a tiny little space for Thanksgiving decor and items and usually unless you get the stuff before Halloween, you won't be able to find it anymore because of them pushing Christmas stuff out.

People are too busy worrying about money to just stop and live their lives with money not being the main thing. I think Black Friday is a travesty and ridiculous. The fact that people kill other people to get a deal is even worse.

I don't see Thanksgiving as a joke, I mean I'm from Canada, we don't have big sales around Thanksgiving, but I still don't think it's a joke?

I actually think that Thanksgiving is a nice holiday. It's a day where you can step back and have a nice meal with friends and family, and just be happy that you have them. Whether or not you decide to go on a crazy shopping spree for Christmas presents or whatever the next day has nothing to do with Thanksgiving.

To me, Thanksgiving is a day where you get to hit pause. So I hope you find your holiday spirit :)