Happy Thanksgiving: Christmas CAN wait...

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.

I hope that today you will have plenty of food and the company of loved ones with whom to share it.

I hope that you will enjoy some moments of peace even in the possibly hectic preparations of said food and loved ones.

And I hope you will be thinking about Thanksgiving, not about Christmas.

Forgive me for a bit of a rant here but can someone please tell me WHY Christmas has moved from the winter holiday celebrated in December to the retail madness that begins with decorations appearing in the stores while halloween costumes are still being selected by their little wearers?

And while you're at it - please advise WHY our society has become an immediate gratification, gotta have it NOW culture. Case in point...I'm working today so that we can support the merchants who are open on Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, I'm GRATEFUL for the overtime and don't mind working on holidays b/c I don't really have anywhere else to be - no large family waiting for me to put a bird on the table.

BUT (and isn't there always one?) it makes me nuts that businesses ARE open on Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Tell me again why it is necessary for Walmart to be open on Thanksgiving instead of giving their employees the day of to be with family & to prepare for the madness that begins at 12:01 a.m. in their stores tomorrow?

I was talking about this at work recently. Recalling how not so long ago businesses were closed on holidays. When I was young (and even AFTER the dark ages ended) nothing was open on Thanksgiving. Not even gas stations. Or restaurants. There were no convenience stores open 24/7. Drugstores either. If you knew you were going to need something, you purchased it in advance - when the stores were open. If you didn't - you survived until the stores WERE open.

People planned ahead for their needs or they waited.

Anyone with a calendar, or a friend with a calendar, can check ahead and see that Thanksgiving falls on the 4th Thursday of November. Every year! Christmas is ALWAYS on December 25th. We know this. I can see no reason, other than greed, that grocery stores and 'box stores' (like Walmart) have to be open on Thanksgiving (or even 24-hours a day but I'll save THAT rant for another time).

Christmas shopping CAN wait until tomorrow folks. Heck, for that matter, the Christmas season CAN wait.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving. Tomorrow is soon enough for Christmas.