Most of us know what Black Friday is. At least we think we do. Stores have huge sales, everything can be bought at a discount (allegedly), reports of otherwise possibly upstanding citizens abandoning all dignity to buy half-off TVs while scratching each other’s eyes out flood the news and alas, the Holiday shopping craze begins.
The truly worst and ugliest of human nature shows itself this day of the year. Black Friday actually refers to stores going from the red (debt) and into the black (profit) due to outstanding sales by the way, if you’re interested.
I’m sad to say that more people in my neck of the woods know of Black Friday than of the day before… Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is the true starter to the Holiday season in the United States of America, and I think just the name of the event should be cause for bigger enthusiasm globally.
Celebrate good times…come on!
Sure, every culture has its own celebrations and that’s all well and good, but some of them should be borrowed. We have already adopted Halloween and St. Valentine’s Day (I LOVE the former, as many of you know. I’m not a fan of the latter). I’m now here to make my case for Thanksgiving too.
I mentioned already that I’m a firm believer in gratitude as a form of self-care. Needless to say, I find the idea of having a holiday solely for giving thanks very appealing. Sure, the history behind this celebration is something we don’t share with the American culture, but giving thanks never hurt anybody.
I really don’t feel like paraphrasing Wikipedia for the brief history of this celebration, so please do your research if appropriate.
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Yams, turkey…family
This is more of my personal relationship with this very foreign concept. To me, Thanksgiving for decades has been something that I only saw in movies and TV shows. What I saw were friends and families gathering together in cosy apartments, saying what they were thankful for around beautifully set tables and then gobbling themselves full of turkey and a great many other foods that I didn’t know much about. Yams, gravy and cranberries were not exactly part of the Hungarian pallet. They still aren’t but at least now I know what those things are. The thing that most stuck with me about these scenes was the warmth.
Thanksgiving in the States is held on the 4th Thursday of November. Since November is not exactly the warmest or cuddliest of months, I find the whole idea to be especially cosy.
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My own little Thanksgiving
So last year, I had my own little Thanksgiving with my friends. While I didn’t roast a whole turkey, there was a bunch of food, a whole lotta love and it was a great night!
I’m sure I don’t need to tell y’all that ‘tis not the year, much less the season, to get loads of people into an apartment, what with viruses and curfews and fines.
However! I still urge you to give thanks! Maybe your culture doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. Maybe you can’t host a get together because friends and family are unable to get home. Maybe cooking up a fancy meal is the least of your worries at this time. That’s fine.
Staying alive
I will invite over a maximum of one friend because that is how much my futon can take. I will cook a nice but not too fancy dinner. I will light candles, open a bottle of wine and give all the thanks that I can for the things that I have. I suggest something along the same lines, because if you’re reading this, you’re here. Alive and kicking.
Thank someone for that shit!
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