I purposely delayed in writing this post because I didn’t want you to think that I am a “scrooge!” Even now, as I am writing this post, there are presents under the Christmas tree in my den. But I think we have lost the real meaning of Christmas! It seems that for many people, Christmas is about receiving, but it really should be about giving. Now, you might be saying; Isn’t all the shopping about giving? Well, in a sense it is, but how many of you know that most people shop and give in the hope that someone else is doing the same thing for them!

But, that is not the real reason for my writing this post. I am writing because of the irony that surrounds Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday. By definition, Thanksgiving Day is a day to be thankful. And to be thankful is to express gratitude for what you already have. But isn’t it a bit ironic that the very next day, after a day of being thankful for and content with what we have, we are encouraged to go out and shop and that shopping is motivated by the discontentment of what we don’t have? Think about it! On Thursday, we sit at the table surrounded by family and friends and express thanks for what we have. Then on the very next day, we go out and shop among the maddening crowds, motivated by discontent, to get the things we don’t have!

I would like to suggest that perhaps the Thanksgiving holiday for many people has degenerated into just a day to rest up for Black Friday! And this year, an increasing number of merchants were not content to leave Thursday alone! In order to get a leg-up on sales and take advantage of the holiday, some stores were open Thanksgiving Day! We already have Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber-Monday, now we are being introduced to Gray Thursday! Who knows, perhaps there will come a time when we will no longer celebrate Thanksgiving by sitting around the table being thankful with our families but rather spend the day shopping in the mall. I don’t know about you, but I think it is a bit much! The only ones who will be truly thankful for that will be the turkeys! What do you think?