Thanksgiving Comes First

The inimitable Suldog has started a movement, and i am glad.

For many years, i've been appalled by the fact that there is Christmas paraphernalia in the stores sometimes as early as August. When i was a young mimi, and It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown first aired, i was amused by the portrayal of stores with Christmas items up at Easter time, and signs saying only 275 more shopping days left.

As a grown-up mimi, i'm no longer amused by the near reality.

Yes, you should be able to sell Christmas items. Yes, your business has to order them early. Yes, when magazines are doing layouts, they are sometimes 18 months in advance, because in business you can't afford to be late.

Christmas is not, or should not be, strictly a business. It should be a joyful celebration, if you are going to acknowledge it at all.

Thus while i know the stores have to order early and be ready, it would be lovely to me, and maybe to many others, if all the stores in the US would celebrate Thanksgiving, and then put up Christmas decor and pull out that particular season's merchandise.

Being a realist, i know they won't. Because even if stores in the US, as a group, agreed to do so, all of them, one or more would decide to jump the gun to get the extra profits. Then the others would feel the need to follow suit, so as not to lose out.

We will continue, however, to say our peace, ignore the hype, walk past the red and green, and not deck our own halls until we have given thanks for our blessings.

It's the least we can do, give thanks.

Suldog has asked if any other bloggers would be willing to give a free ad on their blog to any store that will save the season, and i most certainly would. This most boring blog could probably use the dusting up.

To those who celebrate Thanksgiving at other times of the year, thank you for putting up with us as we rail on this issue a bit.

To US stores, Thanksgiving Comes First.


Today is:

Birth of the Bab -- Baha'i

Feast of No Excuse For A Feast Day -- internet generated, if you have no other excuse to celebrate something today, use this one

Festival of Ebisu -- Japan (the laughing god; date approximate, traditionally 20th day of 10th month of the traditional lunisolar calendar)

Get Smart About Credit Day

Get to Know Your Customers Day

Installation of Scriptures as Guru Granth -- Sikh

International Credit Union Day

International Juan Valdez Appreciation Day -- internet generated, yet as we sip our morning wake up brew, let's remember the hardy souls who pick the beans for us!

International Menopause Day

Kenyatta Day -- Kenya

National Brandied Fruit Day

Revolution Day -- Guatemala

Seeking of King Look Under Your Mattress -- Fairy Calendar

Shemini Atzeret -- Jewish

St. Acca's Day (Patron of Learning)



Anniversaries Today:

Aristotle Onassis marries Jacqueline Kennedy, 1968


Birthdays Today:

Dann Gillen, 1967
Viggo Mortensen, 1958
Danny Boyle, 1956
Tom Petty, 1950
Jery Orback, 1935
Mickey Mantle, 1931
Joyce Brothers
Art Buchwald, 1925
Fayard Nicholas, 1914
Bela Lugosi, 1882
Charles Ives, 1874
Arthur Rimbaud, 1854
Christopher Wren, 1632


Today in History:

The first Crusaders arrive at Antioch, 1097
The city of Nuestra Senora de La Paz (Our Lady of Peace), Bolivia, is founded, 1548
Battle of sekigahara sets Tokugawa clan as Japan's Shoguns, 1600
Maria Theresa of Habsburg becomes ruler of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia, 1740
Patent of Toleration, providing limited freedom of worship, is approved in Habsburg Monarchy, 1781
US Senate ratifies the Louisiana Purchase, 1803
The U.S. and U.K. sign the Convention of 1818, which, among other things settles the U.S. - Canada border at the 49th parallel for most of its length, 1818
First Edition of London Sunday Times, 1822
Lincoln formally establishes Thanksgiving as a national holiday in the US, on the 4th Thursday of November each year, 1864
P.T. Barnum's Hippodrome featuring "The Greatest Show on Earth" opens in NYC, 1873
The hull of the RMS Olympic, sister-ship to the ill-fated RMS Titanic, is launched, 1910
The first Negro League World Series is held, the KC Monarchs shut out the Hilldales, 5-0, 1924
United States of America and Pakistan establish diplomatic relations for the first time, 1947
The Nepal Stock Exchange collapses, 1971
The Sydney Opera House opens, 1973
BM-PC DOS Version 2.1 released, 1983
US accuses Microsoft of violating law by forcing IE browser on computers, 1997