Thanksgiving is always an interesting time of year. The leaves have fallen, but there’s no snow. The Halloween candy from the month before is gone, with the exception of the apples and raisins nobody eats. Let’s face it: Thanksgiving is the middle child of winter holidays. The idea of chowing down on a huge homemade meal while you’re surrounded by the people you love sounds nice, but what is Thanksgiving truly about?
Most people would say it’s about acknowledging what you’re grateful for. Honestly though, when was the last time your uncle put down that turkey leg of his and went on about how thankful he was? Nowadays, Thanksgiving is just an excuse for us to stuff our faces in exchange for feeling like good people even though we didn’t do anything good in the first place. The premise of the holiday is almost as sweet as those sweet potatoes and marshmallows you love so much, but in reality, Thanksgiving has evolved into something completely different.
Thanksgiving doesn’t have a lot going for it. First of all, the history of the holiday is problematic. The slaughter of hundreds of thousands of native people by Columbus and other colonizers is just sickening and I don’t really want to celebrate the conquest of these people. Second of all, the food just sucks. Maybe it’s just a personal preference but Thanksgiving is the definition of too much food. It make you feel gross afterwards and it’s not even delicious in the first place. The idea of pouring gravy over everything makes me want to hurl. Thanksgiving gives us a time to reflect… on who thought it was a good idea to mix marshmallows and sweet potatoes.
Despite its flaws, Thanksgiving isn’t all bad. This may be another unpopular opinion, but I actually enjoy spending time with my family. Thanksgiving is great in the sense that it actually gets everyone together at the same time. Calling and texting your family is fun and all, but this holiday is truly amazing in that it can drag everyone from wherever they are in the world and get them at the table. I love having the family all together, laughing and enjoying ourselves. We may fight or get angry at each other through the course of the year, but at Thanksgiving we put all that aside and focus on the good things.
Like every holiday, Thanksgiving has its ups and downs, but hey, at least we get the time off. So whether you love or hate Thanksgiving, take some time to spend time with people you love. The food may not be great, but that’s why we have bread. The holiday may have drifted from its original intentions, but nothing is perfect. Have a great time over break doing whatever you want, whether you’re eating turkey with the family or getting Chinese take-out with your friends, because in the end, it’s just a holiday.
