Let’s give Thanksgiving its due

Thanksgiving. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.

In late October while shopping for trick-or-treat candy, I tossed a couple of bags into the cart before realizing to my shock the pieces were wrapped in green, red and gold foil! Pretty but not very Halloween-y.

Passing through the Salt Lake City airport in early November, I was aghast to find it already decorated with giant nutcrackers, glittering snowflakes and other gaudy décor. Ugh.

A certain coffee chain with a mermaid logo is one of the worst offenders in the race to rush the season. For weeks they’ve been in full Yuletide mode. I love a double-tall peppermint mocha with whip but I don’t crave one until December.

I work in Edmonds, a place I dearly love for its small-town charm. But every November the colored lights go up earlier and earlier on the lofty evergreen in the local plaza. My grocery store in Ballard is selling poinsettias. Really? Is that the directive from HQ in Cincinnati?

Turning on the radio the other day, I was blasted with Xmas tunes. Too soon. And you’ve no doubt noticed that TV and radio ads have shifted into Christmas gear. Fake snow and fake cheer.

Call me a purist, but November is a time for decorating with pumpkins, fall leaves and mums — not snowflakes, holly and tinsel.

Why do businesses feel the need to minimize Thanksgiving and rush headlong toward Dec. 25? Obviously it’s money-driven. Christmas is big business and the time to make hay. But I implore business owners to hold their horses and give Thanksgiving its due. Don’t worry — I’ll be excited to start celebrating the most wonderful time of the year and spend plenty of money on gifts with a vengeance — after Turkey Day.

If money is what’s behind this dash to Christmas, why can’t the creative marketing minds of this country find a way to market this uniquely American holiday? Christmas promotions, often stale, are low-hanging fruit. Bor-ing. Do better.

Please don’t get me wrong — I’m no Scrooge. I love Christmas. Friends and family will attest that I relish decking the halls and making merry. I believe “Elf” is one of the greatest movies of all time. Hearing “Angels We Have Heard on High” moves me to tears in a church Christmas Eve. But not in an elevator in November. This relentless marketing onslaught makes many of us sick and tired of Christmas before we even get to December.

Thanksgiving is one of — if not the — most American of holidays. My Danish-born wife, who after 30 years is still bewildered (as am I) by U.S. traditions like Groundhog Day, embraces Thanksgiving above all other holidays. What’s not to like? We get a day off, there’s no gift-buying pressure, the food is wonderful and plentiful and (for those so inclined) there’s football galore — to watch on the tube and to play on the neighborhood field. Above all else, Thanksgiving encourages togetherness and sitting down at the same table — despite our differences. Lord knows we need that right now!

Thanksgiving is also the perfect time to pause, to look back upon the past year, to give thanks. And to give back. What better time to donate to a local charity that fights hunger? Volunteering at your neighborhood food bank is especially rewarding this time of year.

I realize that there are more important issues facing us and expecting change on this front may be a fool’s errand. I’m going to celebrate Thanksgiving by being thankful, mindfully raking the autumn leaves and staying away from shops tricked out in holiday excess until Nov. 29, when I’m all in. I’ll do my best to give Thanksgiving its due. I urge you to join me.