Tuesday, October 26, 2010

THANKSGIVING COMES FIRST





Yes, time once again for my imitation of Sisyphus. Time to make an attempt at stemming the tide of Christmas advertising that seems to inundate us earlier and earlier with each passing year.

I do this, around this same time every year, because I truly believe the cheapening of our holidays can be stopped. Do I believe it will happen right now, because of this post? No. It will take your help, and help from your friends, and then help from their friends.

I'm gratified that many of you, in years past, have joined in the effort. Perhaps you'll find some entertainment in doing so again this year? I hope so.

If you'd consider helping in any of the ways outlined within the body of what follows, I'll be extremely thankful.

******************************************************************

When I was a kid, Christmas was magical. The lights were colorful and amazing, making the night a warm, bright, wonderful place to be, even if it was 20 degrees outside and the snow was up to your waist. If you're old enough, you'll recall that Christmas carols gave you the same sorts of butterflies in your stomach that would be associated with love at a later time in your life. Cities and towns put up decorations on the main streets, with the larger municipalities erecting lovely Christmas trees in central spots.

All of the above worked, on a spectacular level, because it happened at an appropriate time. No retailer (or city, or homeowner) dared breach the unofficial line of demarcation – Thanksgiving. It was an unwritten rule that one holiday would play out completely before speaking of another was allowed.

Now? Nobody cares. Whatever you can peddle, whenever you can peddle it, is the mantra. It matters not a whit how many people’s memories are trampled, nor how irreligious the displays and advertisements. The only thing that counts is that ledgers get into the black. Restraint and taste are passé. The more outrageous the spectacle, the better for the bottom line.




Make no mistake about it: I’m a capitalist. I’m all for everybody making as much money as they can, as fast as they can, in whatever way they can, so long as nobody is physically hurt in the process. I’m not looking to enact laws against early Christmas advertising. What I am in favor of is standing up and being counted. That's fair. Opinion can drive a market in the right direction without resorting to the force of government intervention. If you decry this incursion upon our holiday ground as much as I do, I hope you'll join me in raising a slight ruckus. My hope is that we make enough noise to affect the situation. If we can’t, then I suppose we deserve this despicable state of affairs.

I’m going to give it a try. I hope you'll help.

If you believe, as I do, that Thanksgiving should play out fully before Christmas season begins; that Christmas carols should not be heard on the radio before at least Thanksgiving evening; that advertisers who dare to encroach upon Thanksgiving - or, God help us, Halloween - should be told in no uncertain terms that you despise their hideous advertisements and that you will not shop at their establishments unless they cease and desist; that malls who put Santa Claus on display before Veterans Day should be ashamed of themselves; then please consider doing something about it.

Should you be as incensed as I am concerning Christmas schlock, please post a "Thanksgiving Comes First" entry on your blog. Write from the heart. Everybody who visits your blog will find out how you feel. My guess is they'll agree with you. Perhaps they'll also write about it, and so will their friends, and so forth. I hope that, if enough of us do this, we might make some small impact.

Please title your post "Thanksgiving Comes First". If we all do that - use the same posting title - it will make a bigger impact. If you wish to reference this post, or other posts with a similar title, please do so. It isn't mandatory. I'm not looking to drive people to this blog. I'm just trying to make a difference concerning something that truly rankles me.

[This cartoon is a favorite, so I chose to run it even though I don't know whose original property it is. If you are the artist, or know who the artist is, I'll gladly give a great big link, and credit.]


If you wish to use the snazzy graphic at the top of this page, or any of the other original graphics here, either on your blog entry or as a semi-permanent graphic on your sidebar, please feel welcome to do so. I'd appreciate it. Having a visual symbol that folks see repeatedly would be a big help.

Following are my most personal reasons for wishing to see something positive occur. Yours don't have to match mine, by any means.

I'm a Christian, so I have more than an annoyance factor at work here. I think that cheapening the holiday, by expanding it beyond reasonable bounds, does a world of disservice to my religion. It gives people a false view of it, by making it out to be a greed-fest. However, if you aren’t a Christian, your take on matters is certainly as important. If you're Jewish, for instance, or maybe a Muslim, it might make you mad to see some of your own holy days being given short shrift because of this overkill. If you're an atheist? I imagine it doesn't make you happy to be bombarded by this stuff. Whatever your reasons, please consider telling the world that you've had enough.

(I'm not encouraging obscenity, but I won't discourage it, either. Make it funny, or use it to emphasize a point, but I’d prefer that you don’t be gratuitous just for shock value. Obscenity always works better when it is an organic part of the whole. Be creative.)

Here's my latest idea: I think a good value, given to merchants who forgo early advertising, would be a nice and proper thing to offer. For instance, Nordstrom's was a retailer that specifically advertised, in a previous year, that they would NOT be filling the aisles with Christmas merchandise until after Thanksgiving. God bless them! We should, at the least, patronize folks like that.


Better yet, offering the combined readership of ALL OF OUR BLOGS as a potential source of advertising for retailers who agree not to give the short end of it to Thanksgiving would be something that carried actual weight. If we could give FREE ADVERTISING ON OUR BLOGS to those who solemnly swear to hold in abeyance the tinsel and trees and carols, until after Thanksgiving, do you think that might make a difference? I'm willing to offer my blog space, for a day, to any retailer who makes that promise.

(Just a thought. I've always considered it nicer to offer incentives than to promise punishments.)

So, to reiterate:

If you believe as I do, that Thanksgiving Comes First, then please let your readers know where you stand.

If you post a "Thanksgiving Comes First" entry to your blog, please let me know by leaving a comment here. On Friday of next week, I'll write about this again. If we can get this thing rolling, it will be a joyous post detailing all of the successes, pointing folks to all of the other blogs, including yours, that have decided to fight the madness. If it turns out to be a dismal failure, I'll write about that, instead.



(Image courtesy of Thanksgiving Corner)

In order for this thing to have any real effect, it has to keep spreading via others. While I truly LOVE anything you do in response, we have to ask others to do the same. If we don’t, then we’re just ranting. While that's certainly fun, it doesn’t accomplish nearly as much as making our feelings known and also getting others to make their feelings known.

I firmly believe – and I’m sure you do, too – that the great majority of people are sick to death of the way Christmas has been commercialized. I’d be willing to bet that whenever you talk to anyone about this stuff, they almost always say, "Yeah, that's how I feel, too!"

Don’t you think we hold the majority opinion on this? If there were some way we could vote on it, wouldn’t we win easily? I sure think so. I think that for every person who loves hearing Christmas music at the beginning of November, there are ten of us who want to blow up the radio it’s playing on. I know that’s the way I feel. And I really, truly LOVE Christmas music. I honestly do. I own some 35 or 40 CDs full of Christmas music. But it has its place, and November (or, God help us, October) really isn’t it.

Are we tilting at windmills? I’d like to think we're not. The response in previous years, from all of you kind folks, gives me hope that it’s a winnable battle.

Sooner or later, if we speak up and ask others to do likewise, I honestly think we can have some effect. I’m not saying that we’ll bring the corporate world to its knees, nor is that what I hope to accomplish. This isn’t a power trip. But, if we can get them to ramp it down a bit, that would be an accomplishment of which we could be proud.

What this is all about, truly, was brought home to me while watching an episode of Mister Rogers.



On one of his shows, he was explaining the concepts of noisy and quiet. In order to illustrate the difference, he took his television audience to see a musician friend of his.

Fred had the musician, a percussionist, play his many instruments. Some were very loud, while others were soft and gentle. Afterward, Mister Rogers looked into the camera and spoke. He said, "In music, the silences are just as important as the loud parts."

The silences are just as important as the loud parts.

That’s a very profound statement. It’s true, isn’t it? Without the silences, it’s all just noise. The silences – the pauses, the gaps, the unfilled spaces – are what give the notes their power and meaning. And when it comes to a holiday, the silences – the quiet times preceding (or even within) the holiday – are extremely important. They give the celebration its power and meaning. That’s why I care so deeply about this. We all need some silences. They’re just as important as the loud parts.

Please keep writing, as well as asking your friends to write. Maybe send off a letter or two to your local newspapers. I've had a couple published, and some of you are much more eloquent than I am. Let us know what sorts of responses you receive. As promised, I’ll list (and link to) all of your blogs come next Friday.

For now, Google the phrase "Thanksgiving Comes First" and you'll find many past postings. Even that simple act, in and of itself, helps to spread the message. Getting many hits on Google, for the phrase, will bring it to the attention of some more good people.

Thank you for listening. God bless you if you help.


78 comments:

Julie said...

Interesting concept. As we don't celebrate 'thanksgiving' here we don't have 'another' holiday to push back the advance of christmas merchandise and advertising - unfortunately.

wishing you well in your endeavour.

Anonymous said...

Last year you did it in time for Canadian TG - a month and a half before yours. We already had Xmas crap out. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera last weekend when I happened on a display of Halloween and Christmas junk nicely set up one beside the other. It was a bit surreal.

Cricket said...

Tsk, tsk.... Hallowe'en comes first.

Just kidding. A great post that bears repeating. I'll let that idea rattle around in my brain for a while. We'll see if an idea gets knocked loose.

Either way, you know I'm in full agreement with this. Preach, Brother Jim.

Christina RN LMT said...

Done. Of course you express yourself far better than I, but that's what links are for! LOL.

I don't even like Christmas at all, and I used to love it. NOT just for the presents, either. Or the food.

Michelle H. said...

You know my answer about this cause. It'll be up today.

Craig said...

You know I'm with you on this. My 'Advent' post is already in the queue, for posting. . . um, in Advent. . .

Pat - Arkansas said...

Amen! And, yet again, Amen!

Brighton Pensioner said...

I can do no more than echo Julie's comment, but perhaps we Brits could think of something, even if only "Remembrance Day comes first".

Suldog said...

Christina & Michelle - Wow! Talk about quick! The two of you are my new favorite buddies in blogland!

(You were already favorite buddies, of course. You know that. But I appreciate the fast action!)

Craig - Your past posting, about Advent, was a treat. I look forward to seeing it again - and I'll link it when it occurs, for sure.

Cricket - I am especially looking forward to seeing what you - or, perhaps, your alter-ego, Porcupine - has to say.

Pat - Thank you. I hope you can get some of your Arkansas brethren (and sistren?) to post.

To all of my non-US readers - I know this doesn't have the same 'oomph' for some of you, since you either don't celebrate Thanksgiving or celebrate it at an earlier date. Thanks for the support, nevertheless. Couch it in your own terms, as appropriate for your own locale!

lime said...

yesterday was october 25. a particular coworker of mine kept hopping around like a 3 yr old who was just given a 6 pack of coke to chug. all the while she was exclaiming, "it's 2 months till christmas! it's 2 months till christmas!" i had to restrain myself from clubbing her to death but i finally pulled out my soapbox and told her that this week she was allowed to be excited about halloween. next week and for the following month she was allowed to be excited about thanksgiving. the monday after thanksgiving when we return to work after THAT holiday, which focuses on being grateful for what you already have instead of falling into rabid consumerism and how much more stuff you can get, and not a day before...i would THEN tolerate her excitement about christmas. i warned her that if she continues i may beat her unconscious well before thanksgiving.

perhaps not the most kindly mr rogersly way to get my point across but, dear god, i can't put up with that a whole month before thanksgiving.

Suldog said...

Lime - I know. It's sad, really. Being excited about something is not wrong, but why do some of us not realize how much better a celebration is when it is in its proper time? And that there are other things to get just as excited about now, if we so desperately crave excitement?

If not exactly as Fred might have handled it in temperament, it was correct in education :-)

Anonymous said...

As an atheist, I actually appreciate that Christmas has become largely fueled by capitalist gestalt. I can usually get through the season with a minimum references to christ/christianity. I have no beef with Christmas, as it serves as a day to exchange presents that all our family members have off. I like decorating trees, etc.

I don't do church, and that keeps it nice and secular for me.

But I'm with you on this...I'm so irritated to see santa and tinsel encroaching on the back to school aisle. I'll put up a post in a few days and link back.

Thanks @ Lucrative Pain who sent me here.

Moannie said...

The comeback kid here. Once again you are ready for all comers. I am so with you on the 'wait for it' scenario.

I guess here, where Thanksgiving is not a holiday, we could plead for at least to wait until November...that is still too early in my opinion, but hard to beat the big boys and their bucks.

I notice that the Supermarkets have already laid out two isles full of Christmas 'cheer'

Anonymous said...

What's Christmas? Is that something I should know about?

*grin*

BklynSoxFan said...

Well said, Suldog. I've always believed Thanksgiving has gotten short-changed. The Christmas season doesn't begin until Santa Claus comes riding down Broadway in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and not one minute sooner!

GreenJello said...

I'm glad you liked the turkey/Santa comic enough to put it up again this year. :) It hangs on my cube wall all year long, and has hung there for close to 10 years now.

As for me, I celebrate Thanksgiving all month long. I will be doing the same thing I did last year for the month of November-- every Facebook update I do will be of something I am thankful for.

(not necessarily your) Uncle Skip said...

I dunno Jim, I think maybe you are running late this year. Didn't you start before Columbus Day last year?

Suldog said...

Expatbostonians - That someone would be thankful for the commercialism, for reasons other than the greed involved, is an interesting viewpoint, and one I hadn't considered. As I said, your reasons may not match mine! I look forward to reading what will probably be a very interesting post.

Moannie - So good to see you back and posting! As I say to others from the UK, feel free to word your own protest in whatever way works for your locale. All efforts are greatly appreciated!

Quirkyloon - I sometimes wish I could be that oblivious.

Q - So good to hear from you, my NYC friend! As far as the EXACT moment when Christmas season begins, I tend to agree :-)

GreenJello - You were the one who sent that cartoon to me originally, of course, and I thank you. It made my day then, and continues to give me pleasure.

Suldog said...

Uncle Skip - I did start earlier last year. That's because I was incensed earlier. This year, I really haven't been privy to too many outrageously early commercial displays. I'd like to think that's because of some of our past efforts :-)

Porcupine said...

& ^#@^!#$%#^%!!! @#^$#%!!!!

I just got back from Mal-Wart where I was assaulted by trees, wreaths, and Jingle Bells on the music system.

Hallowe'en comes first, for %$@#&* sake!

Daryl said...

Even this Christmas loving Jewess feels the commercialism has gone too far ... and if I ate meat, I would have a huge slice of turkey on Thanksgiving .. but I will let the rest of the clan have the gobbler and I'll have the fish, please

Buck said...

I'm late to the party today due to the fact I got hung up reading an impossibly long philosophical/theological thread earlier today. That exercise took ALL the wind out of my blog-sails and I'm just now catching up.

Yes, time once again for my imitation of Sisyphus.

Indeed. The corporations and the profit motive are MUCH larger than you, I, and all of us who believe in this concept, taken in the aggregate. But I will play along as I have for the last three years (or is it four?). No cause is truly lost, especially GOOD ones.

Hilary said...

As you know, I'm neither Christian nor American so this isn't something that really resonates with me in quite the same way. We've already had our Canadian Thanksgiving earlier this month and it would make little sense for me to write about your cause much in the same way it would be for you to proclaim "Canadian Thanksgiving before Hanukkah!"

But it just occurred to me how I can help promote your cause - even if just a little bit. Please stop by on Wednesday. :)

Anonymous said...

Jim:

My link to my "Thanksgiving Comes First" post now remains in my sidebar all year 'round.

I was thinking about this yesterday, when I popped in to the grocery, and found THREE holidays at once: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Bah. And/or Humbug.

(not necessarily your) Uncle Skip said...

My post is up first thing in the morning (PDT). Ooh, let's get rid of Daylight Savings. I hope that we've had some effect on merchants, but am afraid that we haven't seen much in the way of ads because the politicos have hogged all f the air time. Let's banish them, too.

Anonymous said...

Here via Hilary, and I'm glad she pointed me your way with a POTW award!
I think I'll be joining you in posting about this. (I have to get through this week, and Halloween, before I can think about Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas!)

Jane said...

The World Series comes first! Priorities, people.

I'll weigh in as soon as baseball season is over. Any display of tinsel before then is wrong on so many levels.

Sueann said...

I have to disagree a little bit here. First Halloween!! Let us not short change that holiday!! Then Thanksgiving
And I do agree that Christmas doesn't start until Santa shows up in the parade...the Macy Day parade!!
So I will definitely post about this.
But after Halloween! Ha!
Hugs
SueAnn

Cricket said...

p.s. - Congratulations on the potw. From Porcupine, too.

word veri: whidabil. Hm. I just remembered I have to call my insurance company today....

Anonymous said...

Well, let me tell you something that will make you cringe....we received a Christmas card in the mail two days ago (October 25th, it was). And it wasn't from a business, but from a family member!! This marketing ploy from retailers and manufacturers is slowly creeping its slimy fingers into our lives. I'm with you 110%. Something needs to be done about this attempt to make the world evolve around one holiday. If something isn't done soon, we'll be finding ourselves receiving Christmas cards and buying and opening presents all year round. Not to mention spending half our lives standing in return lines.

I will be adding this post to my "Latest and Greatest" page!

Tabor said...

Congrats on your POTW and thanks for giving me an idea for a post. I will work on creating the graphic and post something in the coming weeks!

Suldog said...

A great big THANK YOU to everybody who has posted something already, and also to those of you who have promised to do so.

PLEASE - Remember to drop a comment here when you post, or drop me a line at Suldog@aol.com That way, I'll be sure not to miss including you in the follow-up post next week!

rhymeswithplague said...

Great idea, Mr. Suldog! I will definitely have a post that links to your post (I couldn't possibly put it better than you have).

Anonymous said...

Seasonality is disrespected across the board. Daylight Savings Time ends in November now, the baseball season lasts way too long. It's nauseating. Particularly for people who love the seasons, as we New Englanders certainly do.

Someone ought to seriously make a "Naughty' and "Nice" list of retailers. Home Depot and Shaw's stand out as persistent violators in my mind. Whole Foods seems to be respectful. Such a list would be useful to helping people decide where to shop. Is thanksgivingcomesfirst.com taken?

Bossy Betty said...

I agree with you!

Congrats on POTW!

Kat said...

Yahoo!!!! I wholeheartedly agree. I will get around to posting about it as well. Hopefully sooner than later. For now I'm going to post your "Thanksgiving Comes First" picture on my sidebar and link back to this post.
Well done, friend!
And congrats on your post of the week! :)

Anonymous said...

OK - I came back because of what Buck said:

"The corporations and the profit motive are MUCH larger than you, I, and all of us who believe in this concept, taken in the aggregate."

Buck, I disagree.

We are the CUSTOMERS. We ARE their bread and butter.

And if WE begin to "vote" with our feet - by patronizing those stores that feel as WE do - eventually THEY WILL GET THE MESSAGE.

That is one of the wonderful, amazing things about capitalism, and living in America. When we don't like the way a merchant does business, we have the option - and some would say even the mandate - to shop somewhere else.

Don't spend your money with people and/or corporations that don't believe as you do.

Support those retailers that do.

It's blindingly simple (as so many great ideas are) and it *CAN* make a difference.

And whether we ever see that difference in our lifetime or not, I'm going to continue to support "Thanksgiving Comes First" because I believe in it!

La Belle Esplanade said...

Good thinking. You've given me tomorrow's subject matter.
Cheers.
WK

messymimi said...

Thank you for starting this. I have agreed for years.

Although I publish a small blog, and the most boring in the world, I will post a "Thanksgiving Comes First" stand of my own.

Ericka said...

i was in a kmart in september and had to wade through the christmas trees to get to the halloween stuff.

actually, it was kind of cool - they set up those motion activated decorations in such a way that it was like a haunted christmas forest. i was indignant and amused all at once.

if i ever actually post again, i'll put something up for this. :-)

Crazed Nitwit said...

Right now, I feel like Sisiphys every day.

I'm in total agreement here. One holiday at a time.


Now if only the political ads would be banned!

Kris, in New England said...

Jim - I will post this on my blog tonite. It is such an important message and one that I have quite the visual to support.

Check me out tomorrow and you'll see what I mean.

Anonymous said...

I came here by way of Jillsy Girl - I soooo agree with you! I'll be posting Thanksgiving Comes First on my blog. I love that...the silences are important, too.

dave hambidge said...

Directed here from Jillsy Girl and you have an excellent point as the other commentators agree. May I humbly point you to a series of minirants I published December 2009 on "Being done by Xmas", the first of which is at;

http://hambocentral.blogspot.com/2009/12/bdbx-which-elements-upset-you-most.html

Jill said I could do it! (well not really)

Sandra said...

A worthy endeavor. I'll definitely do a post.

Buck said...

Thimbelle sez: And if WE begin to "vote" with our feet - by patronizing those stores that feel as WE do - eventually THEY WILL GET THE MESSAGE.

Sorry, Thimbelle, but you'll starve and go naked if you only patronize stores that refuse to decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.

I'll continue to rant and rave and tilt at windmills but the war is over, we lost, they've won.

But I like the way ya think. ;-)

Anonymous said...

OK Sully. Me 'n Buck are gonna get this worked out yet. You just have to hang on while we get the details straight! LOL!

Alright Buck - you said (and here I quote!) "Sorry, Thimbelle, but you'll starve and go naked if you only patronize stores that refuse to decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.

Well, OK. I hate naked and hungry as much as the next person. So... what about THIS for an idea...

What if we "vote" by NOT BUYING THE CHRISTMAS "STUFF" until *after* Thanksgiving?

I don't want to be hungry and naked - and trust me, you don't want me to be either! LOL!

But I still believe - firmly and fully - that there *must* be a way to make a difference.

So, Mr. Buck, can we agree on that? That we wont' BUY ANYTHING CHRISTMAS UNTIL AFTER THANKSGIVING?

OK, Sully - you can have your comments back now! LOL!

Buck said...

What if we "vote" by NOT BUYING THE CHRISTMAS "STUFF" until *after* Thanksgiving?

Yup. I've been doin' that for YEARS. Seemingly to no avail, I might add... coz the vampires and vultures seem to keep comin' out of the woodwork earlier and earlier as time moves forward.

Still and even, we keep on keepin' on. I firmly believe every lil bit helps, which is why I sign on to this Quixotic bit o' madness every year.

wv: fishin. NO kidding.

Unspoken said...

I love that you do this each year!

i beati said...

i actually saw a tv commercial where all the fall icons Turkey Sant a- Halloween were all talking to one another- Guess we have one big lump--not I I reflect and am quietly contemplative and religious - bothe upcoming holidays - first ad foremost..sandy

Joanna Jenkins said...

I am so with you on this! I've been ranting about the "early Christmas hype" and am happy to blog about it.

http://www.thefiftyfactor.com/2010/10/thanksgiving-comes-first.html

Cheers, jj

tera said...

Found you via the Fifty Factor. Fabulous blog post.
My birthday is in July. Early July. When hubs went to Hallmark to get my birthday card he came home and commented they had their Christmas collectibles out already.
Heathens.

Lori said...

How have I not heard about this incrdibly awesome idea until tonight? I was just at JoAnna's Fifty Factor and she had written about this. To say I love this idea is an understatement. What you say in this post is what I rant year after year. I am so going to write a post about this next week. You are a genius for thinking of this! Seriously. The retailers need to get the message. Thank you! You and JoAnna got me pretty fired up! :)

PS Great blog...glad I found it!

Unknown said...

I know I won't say it nearly as well, but I will do a post on the subject on Friday!

Bill Lisleman said...

agree - did you or anyone start a Facebook page on this yet?
It's not that hard to do and there are many "causes" on FB. You know it was FB that got Betty White to be the host of SNL

Joanna Jenkins said...

Hi Suldog, Gran posted about this too at--

http://granspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/10/thanksgiving-comes-first.html

Cheers, jj

Maria said...

Well said. Now I'm from Europe and now living in Asia so I'm not aware of 'Thanksgiving' but I do understand what you are saying. In India where I live there is a multiplicity of holidays. Luckily, most of the major religious holidays are nicely separated from each other time-wise. Which is probably just as well.

Maria said...

Oh, and congrats on your Post of the Week award. Well deserved....

Land of shimp said...

Congratulations on the Post of the Week mention over at Hilary's, Jim.

You know, it is sort of funny, though. Even the battle cry of "Hey, there's another holiday first!" is just about promoting one excess over another. Part of the reason Christmas is advertised so freaking early now is to try and sell-sell-sell but Thanksgiving is about an orgy of food as much as anything else these days.

Yesterday my husband stopped by the grocery store to pick up Halloween candy for tonight. Already the candy had been moved to the front clearance areas, and the area that was dedicated to candy last week was stuff with Christmas stuff.

I think that amused me more than anything because you'd think if there was one industry in America that would want to push Thanksgiving before Christmas, it would be a place that sells food.

It's been a long time since I took marketing classes but trying to remind consumers that they've got to spend boatloads of money elsewhere, earlier than needed, is just plain stupid.

Cheryl Kohan said...

Hear, hear!! This has rankled me for years. It has irritated me, no end. Even if a person isn't Christian, if you believe in Santa Claus (and I do) it's JUST. PLAIN. WRONG. I will tweet this and put the link on my Facebook page, as well.

That cartoon is one of the funniest I've ever seen in my entire life!! Seriously! I laugh out loud whenever I think of it.

Cheryl Kohan said...

Oh, and congratulations on POTW!!

Merisi, Vienna said...

I can see where you are coming from, good luck with your endeavor! Luckily, Christmas lights don't go up here before the last week of November, and by then they are more than welcome to light up the dreary early winter evenings! I enjoy the Christmas spirit here and have read about some people getting annoyed about the Coca Cola Santa intruding here more and more. I hope they can stem the tide.

In the meantime, happy Halloween (I hope you don't mind!),
M.

Brittany said...

My mother just shared this post with me, and posted about it herself "my life interupted"! It was a reality check, and I fell in love with the concept! I blogged about it as well here:

http://brittanyjohnson87.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-first.html

Thanks for this!

Unknown said...

You are a talented writer. I agree with you so much. I even wrote my own "Thanksgiving Comes First!" POST! thank you.

Jennie
Larsenloves.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Okay, now that Halloween is past, I did it - my Thanksgiving Comes First post is up. I confess I had to tag the Blog Blast for Peace heads-up on the end of it...blogging is getting complicated! :) so it's not pure, but I think it might still be affective.
http://barbarashallue.typepad.com/musing_in_long_hollow/2010/11/thanksgiving-comes-first.html

Dawn said...

Well said! I agree with you and wrote my own blog post to.
http://renaissancemama.squarespace.com/renaissance-mama/2010/11/4/thanksgiving-comes-first.html

Phyllis said...

I saw Renasisance Mama's post and came on over. I posted about it on my blog as well. Thank you for starting this.
http://homeschooljournal-bergblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-comes-first.html

Anonymous said...

Hello there! I was directed here by a link that a friend had me click on.

Anyway, here is a link to my Thanksgiving Comes First! post: http://bonnie-rocks.livejournal.com/135147.html

Unknown said...

I am with you 100% on the trying to re-find the deeper meaning of the holidays through all the over-blown commercialism, because for me it was never about the presents anyway. My own entry on the subject can be found in my LJ.

http://rensong.livejournal.com/1260892.html

Thanks so much for doing this!

Pseudo said...

I followed Lori's advise and popped on over. Love your cause. I miss the magic and spiritual Christmas's of my youth.

I might try to join you on this.

Lora said...

I went to the grocery store yesterday for the first time since Halloween and there is NO Thanksgiving stuff. Only Christmas! I couldn't believe it. I will definitely be writing my own post about this too, I love the idea of everyone linking their posts together and using the same title.

I'd rather make small waves than no waves at all!

Bobbi & Noe said...

Here's our post..! Feeling the same way.

http://www.bobbicamacho.com/2010/11/thanksgiving-comes-first.html

Kathryn Magendie said...

I saw my first christmas commercial BEFORE halloween -yes, BEFORE halloween -I about threw something at the tv! auuughhh!

I need to put up my TF sign and will do that - almost forgot until I stopped by yours and Lori's places!

K said...

I am onboard with your cause, sir - turkey and stuffing person that I am. There's a lot to this: I think people are desperate, and have been for years, for a celebratory time- to recapture some of the feckless magic they felt when they were kids - that somebody bigger than you could just drop in and dump unimaginable and (for you) out-of-reach treasures on your head. Now we're gown-ups, and everything is work spiced with a little desperation and fear (Thoreau was an idiot, but he was right about this).

The point is - Christmas can be glorious. But none of it or anything else has any meaning, really, if there is no quiet space of gratitude.

My contribution to the diatribe fund:


Http://www.krandle.com/streetjournal

Tonya said...

I was going to come by today and comment to let you know I put a post up but you bet me to it. I'm impressed that you found my post! I will be watching for the link :)

jennykate77 said...

Thank you so much for this! I could NOT agree more. You just said everything I've been thinking for the past few weeks. I'm new to your blog. Brittany from Unexpected Surprises sent me over here after she read my post today. Love this post, love this idea...love it all.

Here's the link to my post: http://jennykate77.blogspot.com/2010/11/seriously-people.html

Great blog, btw!

Anonymous said...

Hi Suldog,

I just saw your Thanksgiving Comes First graphic on The Fifty Factor, and was intrigued enough to click through to your blog. Very thoughtful post; I loved your analogy to Mr. Rogers concept of noise and silence. God Bless wise Mr. Rogers.

I get rankled at seeing Hallmark do a Christmas ornament sale in July every year, and it just goes downhill at the malls from there. The marketing to whip us into a rabid holiday greed fest starts earlier every year, and I'm as sick of it as you are. Thanks for this post; I'll see what I can do. You're inspiring.

Mike said...

Suldog - loved your piece, and I'm all for it, even as I, too, love Christmas.

The real irony of all this, is that after the Pilgrims settled here, they BANNED Christmas!