Sophie, (my French translator in Paris) sent good wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving and in her note said "I understand Thanksgiving is at least as important - if not more - than Christmas in the United States."
My initial reaction was something like, Oh, heavens, no -- in the US, Christmas isn't just a day but a season that extends for some folks from the day after Thanksgiving to New Year's Day with gifts and church and Christmas carols and cards and parties and traditional events like The Nutcracker, and decorations that can range from a simple wreath on the door to decorated trees in every room and twinkling reindeer on the lawn.
Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is just one day -- lots of cooking, lots of eating -- how could it approach the importance of Christmas?
But in talking with some of the folks gathered at our house today, I came to realize that it's all the things that Thanksgiving lacks that makes it such a pure holiday and one almost immune to commercialization.
For us, it's simply a day to be thankful and to enjoy the company of family and friends -- no gifts, no cards, no pre-or post Thanksgiving parties. The stores don't play Thanksgiving Muzak at you (even if there were a canon of Turkey Day tunes, the stores are already playing Christmas ditties.)
So we shove the furniture around and rely on sawhorses and an old door to make a table big enough for all of us; we prepare and eat far too much food; drink a pleasant amount of wine; and enjoy being together for a long afternoon -- a kind of low key warm-up for the demands of the coming Christmas season.
Thanksgiving, on the other hand, is just one day -- lots of cooking, lots of eating -- how could it approach the importance of Christmas?
But in talking with some of the folks gathered at our house today, I came to realize that it's all the things that Thanksgiving lacks that makes it such a pure holiday and one almost immune to commercialization.
For us, it's simply a day to be thankful and to enjoy the company of family and friends -- no gifts, no cards, no pre-or post Thanksgiving parties. The stores don't play Thanksgiving Muzak at you (even if there were a canon of Turkey Day tunes, the stores are already playing Christmas ditties.)
So we shove the furniture around and rely on sawhorses and an old door to make a table big enough for all of us; we prepare and eat far too much food; drink a pleasant amount of wine; and enjoy being together for a long afternoon -- a kind of low key warm-up for the demands of the coming Christmas season.
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