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Requiem for a Holiday

By Evan Dolive
Lena Pan/Shutterstock
Will forgoing sales on Thanksgiving put a damper on one’s holiday shopping? Lena Pan/Shutterstock
Nov 27, 2013
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Tomorrow, millions of people will gather across this great nation to celebrate Thanksgiving: the time in our calendar where we pause to give thanks for the year that has past, for family, loved ones, new additions and to remember those that have gone on before us. We share stories, we laugh, we cry — and for many of us we eat too much. For centuries, families have gathered together to pause and to say thanks, even if it is just for one day.

This year, however, I am going to make a bold statement: I am declaring that Thanksgiving to some is obsolete, if not dead. Why such the bold statement? It seems that since the day after Halloween, the focus has been on lights, bows, trees, candy canes, Santa and the Christmas story. In a mad dash to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and in the midst of people complaining about the store employee’s not saying “Merry Christmas,” we have forgotten to stop and be thankful.

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Will forgoing sales on Thanksgiving put a damper on one’s holiday shopping? Lena Pan/Shutterstock
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