I
cooked the turkey, mashed the potatoes, dressed the dressing, merged every
table in the house to make one long beautiful setting for the feast and shared
my day with family and friends, and when it was all over, hubby and I (like
millions of others) took to the streets in search of hot items on what's now
called 'Gray Thursday'.
I
don't know who coined the term, but maybe it's gray for a reason. Gray is
the color of sorrow but in some cultures it symbolizes responsibility and
conservative practicality. Whichever meaning you choose it could be applicable
to this blog.
After
returning from a victorious Gray Thursday/Black Friday spree I watched the news
the next morning and kind of got a kick out of looking at live shots of people
still in the hustle and bustle of it all. I even gave Micah a high five,
because as usual, the hot items that we wanted to get seemed only to be
hot to us (there was no mad dash to buy the things that were on our list so we
were in and out of our two friendly retailers within minutes). However, what
made my victory dance turn into a moment of bewilderment was the fact that I
heard one financial analysts say that the success of Gray Thursday may mean the
end of Thanksgiving as we know it.
Is
that possible? Could a holiday be obliterated because of a three pot crock pot,
a pre-paid cell phone or cheap bath towels? Have we come to the point in our
lives where all we can think about at this time of the year are bargains?
Maybe. For some of us (and one shopper said it best during his interview)
"We have to save a few pennies" but for others it's the sheer
enjoyment of the madness and a time to stock up for self. NBC 10's anchor Tim
Furlong interviewed a few young ladies who had bags of loot from a famous lingerie
store and when he asked if they had gotten gift bargains, they all said
"No! We got stuff for ourselves!"
I
admit I got caught up in the frenzy, even though our holiday shopping was
completed in October but to do away with Thanksgiving? Not hardly. Even I need
a reminder of what Thanksgiving really means.
Come
with me for a moment while I put on my teacher hat. If we interpret the meaning
of the word thanksgiving based on its cultural definition we tend to embrace
the dictionary definition and apply it to the holiday. Merriam Webster defines
thanksgiving as the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of
benefits or favor. If we look at the Biblical meaning of the word it is
revealed that thanksgiving is not an extemporaneous or spontaneous expression
of thanks for a good deed, but it has to do with our spiritual attitude toward
life. It has nothing to do with outward expressions but an introspective look
at ourselves. In other words we live a life of thanksgiving and it becomes a
daily expression of His life. From a spiritual perspective (and not everyone is
a believer but follow me), I believe that God wants us to be thankful in all
things and to rejoice in both the pain and sorrow of our life. Thanksgiving
isn't a question of whether we are going to give thanks or not, but a question
of what spirit we will allow to rule us (Netbiblestudy.com, 2012).
Now
maybe that's a bit much and I'm stealing your holiday shopping joy, but I think
you can agree with me and Netbiblestudy.com. Think back to October, July, March
and even February of this year? How many times did you give thanks? How many
times we you reminded of how blessed you were? Was there a turkey on the table?
Were you camped out in a parking lot waiting for doors to open at your favorite
retailer? Probably not. So in actuality, we've probably all live a spiritually
thankful life but for some reason, that balance is taken away because of the
official start to the holiday shopping season.
The
major retailers probably won't read this blog from a mom in Delaware and change
their marketing habits for the 2013 holiday season, but we can all be more
introspective and give ourselves that little pinch before we get swept away in
the hoopla that will probably continue to begin on Thanksgiving Thursday at
8:00 p.m. when those doors open to priceless bargains.
Have a wonderful holiday season!!!
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