Thanksgiving is becoming a neglected holiday

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas—just three of the many holidays that everyone looks forward to each year. I’m one of those people, but I think that Thanksgiving is not being given its due. Think about it: most of the country prepares for Halloween by placing pumpkins, cobwebs and skeletons outside of their homes. As soon as Halloween is over, people decorate their homes with Christmas lights and ignore Thanksgiving—one of the most historical and important holidays in our country.

Why aren’t there any Thanksgiving carols or sayings? Why don’t people dress up as pilgrims or give gifts on Thanksgiving? It seems like everyone only looks forward to the shopping on Black Friday that comes right after this national holiday. It bothers me that so many people talk about giving thanks to the people closest to us, but have one dinner together and forget about the traditions and history that comes with this secular holiday.

It isn’t even December yet, and most families in my neighborhood have already started putting out their Christmas decorations. I flipped open a coupon book today, and it was filled with Christmas deals and shopping gifts. On television, ABC Family has started its annual countdown of “25 Days of Christmas” by showing Christmas movies, but it hasn’t played a single Thanksgiving movie.

Thanksgiving is a day of saying thanks to people that you love and the people you wish you had said thanks to but never got the opportunity to do so.

I understand that giving gratitude can’t be expressed by dressing up or singing carols while drinking eggnog, but I do believe that most people need to realize that this holiday is just as important as the rest.