Friday, November 16, 2007

Santa Didn't Come on the Mayflower*

I would like to begin this post with a disclaimer. First, I am not against Christmas. I love it. Secondly, these are just my observations and would like to hear what others think.

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving and before we know it Christmas will be here. I love this time of year. I love the cooler weather. I love getting time to spend time with family and friends. I love to go shopping for Christmas presents...especially since I get to go to the toy department for my nephew. I love to wrap the presents and make bows. I love the lights and the Christmas trees. The smell of pumpkin candles, peppermint, and all those other things that remind me of this time of year.

However, I have noticed that Christmas seems to come earlier and earlier each year. This year I noticed that even before all the Halloween stuff was gone, the Christmas decorations were put out on the shelves. I really didn't think much about it since it seemed to be more of a retail thing. Then I got off the plan on Thursday night to find a Christmas tree in the middle of the airport. On Friday while driving around I saw that a strip mall had already begun decorating the light poles in the parking lot.

Again, I am not against Christmas, but I think that Thanksgiving gets lots in the shuffle. I have fond memories of Thanksgiving growing up. Like having feasts at school, dressing up as pilgrims or Indians, and spending time with family and friends. My family and I still talk about how all the kids would have to eat in the garage when we went to my dad's parents house. I also remember Papaw Pop giving each of us a bag to pick up pecans out of his yard and playing in the tire swing. Or the Thanksgiving we spent in Branson, MO just a couple of years ago. Even when I lived overseas we made a special effort to celebrate Thanksgiving, and trust me it isn't easy to find a turkey in China!

I going to attempt to dedicate my next several posts to Thanksgiving, the forgotten holiday!

*The title of this post was actually given to me by my older brother. He saw a sign in a window of a retail store in Dallas that said "Santa Didn't Come on the Mayflower". Apparently this store is causing some problems because they have refused to put up their Christmas display until after Thanksgiving. Thanks Stuart!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I seen this store advertised on the news, and thought it was great, does your brother know the name of it? Please email the name of this store to me at Serena.Morris2@student.ctuonline.edu
I would love to give this store my business!

Jane said...

I didn't ask when we talked yesterday. I searched online, but to no avail. I will give him a call and see if he can remember.

MLM said...

FIRST: Jane, I need you to email me PRONTO at couplesconnect@verizon.net with the name of you know who about Christmas...I forgot the name and need it PRONTO. If you have no clue what I'm referring to, give me a call. (I'm trying to be vague in case So-and-so reads your blog.)

Second, COOL changes on your blog. I dig the design and the colors.

Third: My comment: Cool title and kudos to the store...the one good thing about having Christmas decorations already up is that my son has a long time to learn what's going on, since last year (his first Christmas) was pretty lost on him. Now everywhere we go, we're able to learn the sights and sounds of Christmas. No worries for him though...he's been learning Thanksgiving since before Halloween, when all the pums (pumpkins) first came out. :o)

Jane said...

mlm- thanks for the kudos on the design. i must confess that they won't be around for long since i already have another one that will go up sometime in the next week. i'll keep this one as a backup though.

glad your little guy is getting to learn about thanksgiving. so many of us (me included) don't take time out to really give thanks, especially to the one that really deserves it!

Anonymous said...

The store is Aneita Fern. It is an upscale furniture store in the Galleria area of Dallas. They are the exclusive dealer of Stickley Furniture in the Metroplex...very nice! They also have a sign that reads "Let's Talk Turkey. Then we'll talk Christmas."

Love your "FAVORITE" brother,
Stu

Meems said...

Hey, I like your new digs. I’m a big fan of black and white.

Seems we all notice the Christmas decs going up way too early. Unfortunately the commercial world has the say on when they begin their marketing for the “big bucks” season. As much as I don’t like to get caught up in the commercialism … I do it every year.

I tend to blame Halloween for Thanksgiving getting lost in the shuffle. All the merchandise and public buy-in to that day overshadows the time we could be making more of an emphasis on Thanksgiving … “harvest” and “thankfulness”. IMO if we didn’t do it up so big for Halloween – Thanksgiving would shine. After that it is an easy transition into Christmas.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year. It might just be because I love to eat. Sigh.

Jane said...

Stu- So glad you finally commented (even if I did have to walk you through the process!) I won't tell Rog that you called yourself my "fav"...I hear he is working out again! Thanks for the info and can't wait to see you in December! (I doubt we will have to eat in the garage then!)

Meems- I think you have something with the fact that Halloween overshadows Thanksgiving. I too enjoy Thanksgiving, but I think Christmas would get my vote as favorite. Probably because our family does a better job of getting together then.