Before we plunge headlong into the season of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, let’s linger, one more time, to appreciate Thanksgiving. Last week I wrote that the growing phenomenon of “Christmas creep” is infringing on the joys of our annual turkey-infused celebration.
Many readers agreed, lamenting, as one put it, “the demise of Thanksgiving.” They paid homage to the erstwhile November holiday, and shared reflections on how to keep it real. Here are a few:
The Rev. James W. Joslyn brings memories of his 22 years as a priest in the U.S. Navy. “In September 1988, I arrived at my first Navy duty station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,” he wrote. “A few weeks before Thanksgiving I advertised a Mass of Thanksgiving at 10:00 on the day. I was quickly advised that we didn’t do services on the day because of a local football game and then televised football the rest of the day. I decided to go ahead with the Mass anyway.
“The chapel was packed with Catholics, Protestants, and others. The game had to be delayed till after the Mass. I was there for another Thanksgiving the following year and the game was scheduled for a later time. The chapel was packed for that second Thanksgiving again. That was 1988-1989. Sad to say, I don’t think that would happen today. Let’s not give up on leaving room for Thanksgiving.”
Michael Nalepa, 72, says his childhood memories “all center around anxiously waiting for Thanksgiving and knowing that the Christmas holiday would begin the Friday after. No rushing around trying to figure out what gift someone probably doesn’t want or need. No hiding gifts. No pressure to make sure this Christmas is better than the last. I miss the people in my life that I celebrated Thanksgiving with (and my family is now scattered to various parts of the country), but I have so many memories of those wonderful Thanksgiving meals and gatherings with those that have made my life what it is.”
David Applegate recalls: “I grew up one of seven children in an Air Force family, which meant that from my birth until I graduated from high school we were constantly moving. Only one year of my life — when I was four to five and my father spent a year by himself in Thule, Greenland, closer to the North Pole than even the Arctic Circle — did we live anywhere near any other family members, and for some reason I don’t remember that Thanksgiving at all.
“For Thanksgiving to me growing up around Army and Air Force bases meant dinner at the enlisted men’s base mess hall. We’d all pile into the car — initially a Chevy station wagon, later a V.W. Microbus — and head to the nearest base mess hall; grab a table; and then stand in line with GIs often far from home to fill our plates on trays in a cafeteria-style line with turkey and all the trimmings.
“Best of all was the cornucopia table, filled to overflowing with candy and treats spilling out in a seemingly endless supply, and I don’t recall ever being told we took too much. Afterward we’d all go out to an afternoon/evening movie, and then home and eventually to bed. When you grow up as I did, the military is your family, and your parents’ duty station (base) is your home.”
Robert Goldsborough Sr. offered a story that “involved a trip some years back to a department store, Field’s at Water Tower Place, I think. A middle aged man shopping with his wife in mid-November looked at all the Christmas decorations in wonder and said, ‘What? Did I miss Thanksgiving? I must have.’ And he walked off, head shaking. To us, Thanksgiving dinner has always been more meaningful than its Christmas counterpart, although we do enthusiastically celebrate Christmas.”
For Renata Szczygiel Seward, a child of immigrant parents, “Thanksgiving and July 4 were very significant to our family because they were ‘true American holidays.’ Thanksgiving was so important that my mom’s factory gave each worker a frozen turkey to celebrate the holiday, and the factory was closed for four days!
“I love Christmas, but in our family that season starts with the first Sunday of Advent and/or St. Nicholas Day (12/6). The tree and lights stay up at my house through January. Why? Because it’s dark when you get home, the twinkling lights are bright and joyful. It breaks my heart to see trees on the curb the day after Christmas.
“My personal goal is for Christmas to come down in time for Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day. That’s a great segway into spring!”
“I am a lobbyist and have joked for years that I wanted to base a law to ban Christmas decorations and music before December 1,” Margaret Vaughn wrote. “At least the retailers heard the public outcry and are now mostly closed on Thanksgiving so people can spend time with their families.”
For Cynthia Marks, “Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It is written in the word itself: THANKS. It is a time of reflecting on the harvest, sharing its bounty, celebrating our earth, and being with loved ones. No gifts, no tunes, no lights … just love and gratitude. Check out the children’s book, ‘In November’ by Cynthia Rylant. It is beautiful, and a short read.
“I have been more and more annoyed each year as Christmas creeps in the day after Halloween. Not that I don’t like Christmas but … I don’t need 55 days of it!”
Laura Washington is a political commentator and longtime Chicago journalist. Her columns appear in the Tribune each Wednesday. Write to her at LauraLauraWashington@gmail.com.
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