holiday creep

No, this is not about some strange or mean holiday shopper, nor is this about some sickening feeling that a person gets as holidays approach. I'm talking about the holiday marketing equivalent of urban creep or suburban sprawl -- a holiday sprawl if you will. Is it just me, or did the marketing geniuses out there totally obliterate Thanksgiving in the U.S. in favor of Christmas/Hanukkah? I mean, what ever happened to celebrating the significance of Thanksgiving before the media blitz that has become of the winter holidays? In these times of diversity, one would think Thanksgiving would be a time to reflect on some of the critically important aspects that are usually overlooked about this November holiday.

1. The pilgrims sailed to North America not to conquer, but to live peacefully. Depending on your point of view, they were escaping religious persecution, were exiled from their homeland for their minority religious beliefs, or a combination of the two coupled with a desire to avoid Dutch culture from taking over their own tradition/culture. Could they have protested or resorted to violence to make their government recognize them equally (which probably would have resulted in their death), certainly but they chose to move on and head to a place where they could preserve their culture. I consider this an illustration of a concern for tradition, freedom, non-violence, and culture preservation.
   
2. The Pilgrims arrived in North America with preconceived notions of what Native American Indians were like, and could have attacked the local tribe in an act of "self-preservation." However, they didn't, and the local Patuxet tribe chose not to attack the Pilgrims either, instead offering knowledge of local plants and agricultural practices. Had the Pilgrims not trusted the Patuxets, they most likely would have died as they were not sufficiently prepared for New England winters. To me, this is an illustration of co-operation, compassion, and culture co-existence.

Certainly, the co-operative, peaceful, multicultural themes that exist in this U.S. tradition should be something we celebrate a bit more, in addition to our own reasons to give thanks each year. Don't get me wrong though, I do enjoy the Christmas/Hanukkah season since there are usually more instances of people being genuinely kind and the overall festive spirit. I just see something very wrong with a green flag being waved right after Halloween is over, signaling the beginning of a Christmas marketing frenzy. I mean come on, this weekend at the mall, Santa was already out and available for wishlists and pictures -- isn't he supposed to wait until after the Thanksgiving Day Parade? I know the retail chains depend on December holidays to keep their profit margins healthy, especially in these uncertain and troubled times, but can we please stop the marketing blitz from starting until after Thanksgiving? I am concerned for our future, because it seems that soon Halloween will be the next holiday that gets leap-frogged and then the chaos will ensue - pre-lit artificial trees, menorahs, Santa hats, pumpkins, witches, and ghosts do not mix well.

/rant-off