We love our holidays.
NOVEMBER 1, 2007 (THURSDAY) – Some stores got their Christmas decorations and displays in place before Halloween. The reason for this is obvious: it creates a longer shopping season before Christmas.
Thanksgiving Day is for giving thanks and, for many, signals the start of Christmas shopping. Some of you remember that for a while we had two Thanksgiving Days. President Roosevelt declared Thanksgiving Day would be celebrated one week earlier than the traditional date. It became the second to last Thursday instead of the last Thursday. But we Americans own our holidays and don’t take kindly to orders from the top to change something dear to us, so many called the new date “Franksgiving” and observed the last Thursday anyway. For a while, Texas had both days. Since that was confusing, and there obviously was no enthusiasm for the new date, Congress compromised and passed a law to recognize the fourth Thursday as a national day of Thanksgiving. The purpose for changing it was not mysterious. We were told the reason up front: a longer shopping season for Christmas. Back then merchants, etc. waited until after Thanksgiving to decorate and push sales, so Roosevelt saw the change to an earlier date as a chance to boost sales and stimulate the economy to help the nation slowly dig its way out of the Great Depression.
In order to kick off the Christmas season, many cities had Thanksgiving Parades, and the last float was always a big sleigh with reindeer and Santa throwing candy bits into the crowds that lined the streets. Message received: Get ready for Christmas now.
I recall loving to go to those parades because of the big dragon making serpentine S-shaped movements down the street. My father lifted me to his shoulders so I could see it clearly. It seemed to me as a child that it was about 50 feet long. You could see feet of those holding up the dragon, as they shuffled past the crowd. It was probably more like a centipede, I guess, but we all knew it was a dragon. I loved that, for some reason. I think it actually breathed fire, but I may be fantasizing. How I miss those “kid’s eyes” that were alive with a sense of wonder.
We were all happy to see Santa at the end of the parade, as his “Ho Ho Ho” reached the ears of every child watching. “Christmas is on the way at last!” was our feeling about it. We were entering the longest month of the year for kids, waiting for Christmas day.
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Eve – repeated every year but always exciting to many. When the weather turns off cold, foggy, and windy with rain, those brightly colored lights and tinsel are a very welcome sight. Gets our mind off winter. Of course, here in Rockport most winters are not all that bad. But we love our holidays anyway.
Some people seem to think that one of the Ten Commandments is, “Thou shalt have no fun.” Well, I read them again today, and I am very happy to report to you that there is no such commandment. Enjoy your winter.