Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the Christmas season is in full swing. But sometimes, I like to take a step back and look at what we don’t truly acknowledge: Thanksgiving media. From beloved cartoons to Adam Sandler songs, Thanksgiving media is truly nonexistent.
For decades at this point, the people of America have been doing one thing: focusing on Christmas. There are so many traditions, rituals, and general happenings that make the season special. It’s an excellent time for families to gather, companies to exercise the principles of capitalism, and for you and I to give to the people we care about. But, if Christmas does all of those things, what does that leave for Thanksgiving? That’s where we get to the root of this issue: Christmas boxes out Thanksgiving.
What is the purpose of Thanksgiving again? From my understanding, it’s a time to gather with your loved ones and celebrate how thankful you are for one another. However, many things can overshadow this noble cause that aren’t even Christmas. For example, a running Thanksgiving joke is the fights caused by political differences. Elections happen just a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, so people are still charged by all the commotion and noise created by news outlets. That strain is intensified by difficulties of trying to find money and time to host said gatherings. It’s undeniable that the economy isn’t doing the best right now, so trying to set aside all this extra money to try to make staples of Thanksgiving, as well as paying for travel (if necessary), is a tumultuous task. And to add another slab to our growing layer-cake of issues, our good friend Christmas is still breathing down our necks, so you need to buy presents for a bunch of different people. Big commercial conglomerates won’t let you forget, so being prepared with deep pockets is the only way to go. Black Friday and Cyber Monday may aid with this, but for most, it’s still a huge pain.
So is that where our answer lies? Thanksgiving is simply forgotten because there is so much going on within these months of November and December, along with the fact that, boiled down, these holidays serve the same general purpose. I think so. But that leads us to the ultimate question of this article. Where did our Thanksgiving media go? Overall, I think the lack of Thanksgiving media simply comes down to the fact that, because Thanksgiving is forgotten in commercial America, it’s not worth creating media around it. The demand isn’t there, so neither is the supply. And while for some that may be an unfortunate truth to grapple with, for most it’s something we’ll put in the rearview mirror. Until next year, Thanksgiving. You will be missed by me at least.