I'm not sure this is the correct spot, but here's my rant for the day:

I am appalled at the fact that Thanksgiving is increasingly playing second fiddle to Black Friday Sales. First it was early on Friday morning, then midnight, then 10 pm Thursday, then 8 pm, and now 6 pm.

What on earth do people need so desperately that they need to rearrange their Thanksgiving dinners to shove someone out of the way to get something they probably don't need? The store employees who are forced to work earlier and earlier are the real ones suffering.

Why do we feed into this? It's ridiculous to say there's a War on Christmas when there really seems to be a War on Thanksgiving. I would wish that the retailers would discover that people really don't want to give up their family time and have to reconsider next year.

Ellemm, you are singing my song, here!

Thanksgiving is an important holiday in it's own right. There is a benefit to the concept of taking time out of our busy lives to give thanks for our blessings. There is a benefit to getting together for fellowship with family and friends. The holiday of Thanksgiving needs to be recognized as more than the "gateway" to the Christmas holiday shopping season.

I don't know why stores keep opening earlier and earlier - but they wouldn't continue to do it if people weren't flocking through the doors and spending money.

(I'm old enough to have worked in retail back in the days when stores first experimented with being open on Sundays. I worked those shifts, because I could get an afternoon shift which still allowed me to go to church -- plus I got paid double time for those hours.)

But I digress. With regard to Thanksgiving evolving as a shopping day, I thought it was bad enough when my nieces used to spend the entire time we all spent together reading all the sales flyers in the Thanksgiving Day newspapers and plotting their routes for shopping expeditions that would begin early the next morning -- or eventually at Midnight on Thanksgiving!

In fact, I got so disgusted with this activity that I actually began boycotting Thanksgiving with my husband's family. Which is a loss, as it is one less time we get together with these people, and I don't want to alienate that part of our family.

But now, I expect these same women are trimming down the meal in order to get the dishes done and get out of the door for those big 6 PM doorbusters.

This is sad. All I can recommend is that we stop shopping during these days, so as not to support the retailers. Personally, I refuse to shop at all for the Christmas holiday time until well into December! But then I was born into a family that didn't put up its tree until December 24th. Because before that, we were observing the four weeks of Advent.

I read something really weird a few years ago, namely that most of the Black Friday sales aren't Christmas shopping at all. They're just people out looking for general bargains.

So if we put up a nativity scene it will make up for the fact that the season is really about spending?

I agree with you ladies. Thanksgiving should be for that: Giving Thanks. And even dumber than shopping on Thanksgiving is the
fact that people are trying to take "Christ" out of Christmas.
Now that's idiotic to the max!!!!

Everything revolves around greed; the retailers want the profit, and shoppers want the bargains. Supply and demand; as long as the demand is there retailers will continue eating away at family time.

You are absolutely correct, imo, yonuh. Christmas is a spending fest that has almost nothing to do -- anymore -- with religion. People are not shoving each other out of the way to get bargains because of their faith.

We have the power to change things, but we won't. The retailers know that the very same people who complain about the War on Christmas will crowd the sale isles. Everyone wants 'stuff.'

Oh, we definitely have folks who remind us that giving and being cheerful are the ways we set good examples, but, as Anne noted, they're having a hard time competing with sale flyers.

Would Christmas still come if everyone didn't overeat, overspend, and over-everything? Why, yes it would. We seem to have forgotten that.

By the way, I always read How the Grinch Stole Christmas to my kids on Christmas Eve. It always seemed like the right spirit.

As a small business owner, we take the DAY OFF! Yes, it's the "kick off" to our Christmas shoppers. But holi(holy)days are just that...holy! Set apart....at least they should be.

We can only make the change...in our personal lives which for many of us can be significant.

I have to say that Canadian Thanksgiving (first Monday of 2nd wk. in October) hasn't become quite like that. None of my family members have engineered their schedules for non-food shopping sales for Thxgiving weekend. At least not to the detriment of family time, dates, etc.

However both my partner and I have just gotten lazy and oblivious to sales: we have most of what we need !!!! at that time in life. I mean jeez, what do I need to buy for home (other than a bookcase), a shower curtain,etc.? I've accumulated most of what I need. In terms of fashion shopping, I've become soooooo lackadasial in this area. I buy only 3-5 clothes items annually (for work/casual).

Last time I bought a new pair of new non-cycling shoes was um....6 years ago. I buy classic styles. I wear out my cycling shoes faster than my fashion shoes!!

And I have over 10 prs. of non-cycling shoes in 1 city plus more in another city.

I don't need any more Thanksgiving or Christmas specials.
Ok, maybe buy a box of new Christmas cards for next year.

I've bought and given 90% of my Christmas gifts already.

I have decided that I shall have a special meal on Dec. 25th as usual..use good dishes and table ware.BUT aim to have no leftovers and no cake tins and extras filling my cupboards..thinking back to my childhood we had abundance at this time of year...usually to share with relations who paid an annual visit coming by train or coach..today most friends have cars and are all having their family meals on the 25th.
Life has changed since elder family member have passed so I will alter my tradition of shopping and baking .
I do visit the shops early in the new year when bargains can been had..always with an aim...cashmere items..I have favourite places where I know I can get the real deal.

One never sees a U-Haul attached to a hearse!