The Disappearance of Thanksgiving – The Only True Family Holiday

I have found memories of this holiday during my childhood. School was in session the Wednesday before, but once I got home, I was the assistant to my paternal grandmother in the kitchen.  The first item on the list was to de-husk the corn on the cob, rinse the cobs, plate them and then into the refrigerator they go. The second item would be to flour and roll the dough she had made while in school. This roll of dough we cut together to create noodles. The last item that day would be to make up cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  On Thanksgiving Day we awoke to the smell of the cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven.  I would continue to help out in the kitchen during the day by pinching the edges of the crusts for the pumpkin pies, getting the lumps out of the mash potatoes and setting the table. Living the life of a military child, one tends to miss out on these special family gatherings, I was lucky enough to have my paternal grandmother living with us, so I did not miss out.  Looking back at all the Thanksgiving dinners from my past, I now know spending the time with her in the kitchen I was learning how she was taught how to cook from her mother.  This is what bothers me about how people are spending this holiday now.

Thanksgiving Day to me is meant to be a holiday spent with family at home.  This is the only holiday where the entire family gathers and the only expectations for the day are food, talking, naps and football.  The retail sector has gone completely overboard by being open on this day.  By being open, the employees that work that day miss out on time with family.  Take Wal-Mart for example; if you look at the average age of the workers there, some of them are the grandparents who miss out on telling the next generation about the past ones, or passing down cooking secrets for that specific day.  I am told that the workers have the ‘option’ to have the day off, but what would happen if they all want the day off? The executives spend this day with their families, so why make their employees work a day they will not. Public historians should petition the retail sector to go back to being closed on Thanksgiving Day, so that there is an opportunity for those who need to travel to see family on that day and to pass down family traditions.