Senior computer engineering major
Thanksgiving dinner is always at home for my family. Mom does most of the cooking and baking, and Dad takes care of carving the bird. My aunt brings over some hors d’oeuvres and a can of cranberry sauce because she prefers it to the homemade version my mom prepares for everyone else.
During dinner, I load up on stuffing and mashed potatoes and always grab one of the turkey legs. Of course, I’m careful to save room for a warm slice of homemade apple pie. It’s not a huge guest list — just my aunt, uncle, cousins and grandparents — but it’s the most family we have over all year. Needless to say, I’m getting pretty excited for tomorrow evening.
Before my freshman year of college, I never thought too much of Thanksgiving. It was just an exceptional dinner served to more company than usual. After spending three-and-a-half years in college, though, Thanksgiving means much more to me. For one, it means a home-cooked meal that beats a Chipotle run any day. More importantly, it means revisiting my roots and seeing friends and family who I once saw every day. I now consider Thanksgiving my favorite holiday.
Hardcore Christmas fans might find it hard to believe that I would rank Thanksgiving in first place. I do indeed celebrate Christmas, and I can see why (according to a 2011 Harris Interactive poll) it is Americans’ favorite holiday. Christmas is such a big deal that we spend about a month building up to it. We listen to holiday music on the radio and drape our houses in colorful lights. We go shopping for our friends and family, searching for things that will make them happy. And on Christmas Day, we get to open the little surprise boxes that our friends and family have prepared for us.
Even though I thoroughly enjoy the season of giving, I see the celebration of Christmas as almost tainted by the consumerism that surrounds it. Specifically, I’m bothered by the advent of competitive bargain hunting that fuels the nationwide frenzy of Black Friday shopping. In the context of the Christmas spirit, the energy expended on the promise of unbeatable prices seems misplaced.
Thanksgiving, by contrast, is a pure and simple celebration. There’s no buildup and no hype. The whole purpose of the holiday is just to eat with family and give thanks for the things we already have. We don’t need a new iPhone or a fat check from grandma to be happy; we’re just fine having the company of the people we care about. That such a mundane tradition has lasted into the 21st century is, to me, a beautiful thing.
This year, Wal-Mart’s Black Friday sales event will begin at
6 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, two hours earlier than sales began last year. I sincerely hope that store will be empty, and that shoppers will be too busy eating dinner. I know that’s what I’ll be up to.
Have a happy Thanksgiving!
Kevin Hogan is a senior computer engineering major. He can be reached at khogandbk@gmail.com.
