It’s that time of the year again.  The commercials on TV are all about Christmas and shopping and getting ready for the holidays.  The news is announcing that stores will be offering Holiday sales early this year.  That’s fine, but there is only one problem.

What happened to Thanksgiving?  Why are we in such a hurry to pass over this very important Holiday?  In some respects, this holiday should be on peoples minds way before the Christmas rush.  After all, Thanksgiving is a pretty special holiday for all of us, regardless of religion, nationality, ethnicity or anything else.

Thanksgiving is a day to spend with your families and loved ones and give thanks for the things we have been blessed with.  Even those who are not deeply religious or even those who don’t believe in God, can just celebrate life, and be thankful for what they have.

Yes, Christmas is an important Holiday, but not the shopping and hustle and bustle part of it.  My family celebrates this holiday without presents and going crazy looking for gifts and impressing people.  My sons are all grown, and we decided a few years ago, because of our finances and other reasons, we would no longer exchange gifts.  The first year we did that, we took our sons on a ski trip to Lake Placid.  It turned out to be one of our best holiday seasons ever.

Yes, it was cold and there was a lot of snow, but it was relaxing and the family was together enjoying being around each other and not having to go crazy looking for that “special” gift.

It was probably the best Christmas we spent together.

How do you feel about the commercial aspects of the holidays?