Thanksgiving Deserves Better
Thanksgiving has always been the quietest of holidays — no fireworks, no presents, no grand displays of spectacle. It’s a day meant for reflection, connection, and a little indulgence. But somewhere along the way, we stopped treating Thanksgiving the way it deserves.
We’ve turned it into a stepping stone for the holidays that follow, an obligation to check off before the Christmas rush begins. Advertisers see Thanksgiving not as a celebration but as the opening act for Black Friday. And with Thanksgiving falling on its latest possible date this year, that pressure has only grown. Christmas ads started airing before Halloween, and the frenzy to shop feels louder than ever. Thanksgiving doesn’t stand a chance in the battle for our attention.
It’s hard to even call Thanksgiving a “holiday” anymore. There are no major traditions tied to it. Does anyone decorate for Thanksgiving? There’s no formal church service to attend, no sense of ritual or gathering that’s tied to a greater meaning. It’s mostly just a meal. For many of us, it’s a meal that feels disconnected — an obligation to eat with extended family members we barely see the rest of the year, followed by a rush to clean up and move on.
Even Thanksgiving’s most famous tradition — the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — feels out of sync with today’s holiday. It’s a relic from another era, a celebration of shared spectacle when families sat together to marvel at the balloons and marching bands. Today, it often plays in the background with B or C list celebrities as we prep the turkey or scroll through our phones. The parade tries to usher in Christmas with its Santa finale, but even that feels like a symbolic reminder that Thanksgiving is just a layover on the way to something bigger.
And if the Macy’s Parade feels like an afterthought, what does that make A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving? Even the Peanuts gang can’t muster much enthusiasm for the holiday. It’s the most mundane of all their specials — a makeshift meal of popcorn and toast, the usual existential crises, and a halfhearted attempt at gratitude. It’s charming in its simplicity, but it’s hard to ignore how lackluster it feels compared to the iconic Halloween and Christmas episodes. Thanksgiving just doesn’t get the same love.
And it’s not like we’re busy working or studying. What used to be a three-day week has now become a weeklong break for many schools and workplaces. That sounds like a gift, but instead of creating more time to enjoy Thanksgiving, it’s turned into more time to travel, shop, and stress. Thanksgiving becomes less about togetherness and more about logistics.
Even the night before Thanksgiving, which used to be about catching up with old friends, has transformed. Black Wednesday, once a casual night of reunion, has become a full-blown party for 20-somethings, outpacing New Year’s Eve in sheer chaos. And while they pack the bars, the rest of us feel left out, wondering when nostalgia got traded for novelty.
Then there’s football. It’s still here, as much a part of Thanksgiving as pumpkin pie, but even that feels different now. Backyard games are rare, with families spread out or too caught up in the busyness of the day. High school Thanksgiving games, once staples in small-town America, are long gone, replaced by playoffs weeks earlier. Even the NFL games, which once felt like background noise to the holiday, have turned into multi-day spectacles, bleeding into Black Friday.
And speaking of Black Friday, it isn’t even what it used to be. Online shopping has pulled much of the urgency out of the day. The need to wait in long lines for a doorbuster deal has been replaced by a few clicks from the couch. But that hasn’t stopped the commercials, media campaigns, and hype machines from battling for our foot traffic as if it were 20 years ago. The result? A Thanksgiving that feels less like a day to celebrate and more like a countdown clock to the sales.
So what do we really do for Thanksgiving? Do you have any traditions? I don’t. Sure, there’s a meal and maybe some football, but it feels fleeting. Thanksgiving doesn’t have the emotional weight of Christmas or the anticipation of Halloween. It’s just…there.
And yet, I still think Thanksgiving deserves better.
It deserves more than a few fleeting hours crammed between travel and sales. It deserves more than being drowned out by Christmas music or swallowed by the shopping season. Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays left that isn’t about giving or receiving — it’s about appreciating what we already have.
So this year, let’s treat Thanksgiving the way it was meant to be treated. Let’s make it intentional. Skip the Black Friday frenzy. Turn off the Christmas commercials for one more day. Sit at the table a little longer, even if the mashed potatoes are gone. Talk to your family. Play a game. Watch the football — or the parade — or even Charlie Brown — not as background noise, but as a reason to sit together.
Thanksgiving doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be enjoyed. And isn’t that what the holiday is all about?
Thanksgiving is still here, waiting for us to slow down and savor it. Let’s not forget how. Let’s give it the time, the respect, and the care it deserves. Because Thanksgiving deserves better.
