Thanksgiving Comes First 2011

Dear Retailers, Television Networks, Radio Stations and major corporations:

With all due respect to the holiday, I am asking, actually I'm begging you, to please-- please, knock off the early Christmas chatter. It's only October, not even Halloween yet, but the red and green mall decorations popping up, the trees with shiny stars on top selling ornaments, the jingle bells, the random caroling over the loud speakers, and the increasing stream of commercials, all shouting Christmas, are just too much. It leaves me in a puddle of tears on the floor.

I realize I am not your problem, and I know the economy is rough, money is tight, and profits are at risk, but if you could grant this one request by holding off on "Decking the Halls", until December and remember Thanksgiving Comes First, I'd deeply appreciate it.

Thanksgiving is my great big family's very favorite holiday, one steeped in tradition and filled with meaningful heart-felt memories that we look forward to all year long. On this holiday, we come together as a family for fellowship, joyful conversation, wonderful food, and the opportunity to take time out of our busy lives to say thank you for all the things we are so blessed to have.

We look forward to this day all year long, as do countless other Americans, and it shouldn't be swept under the table, disregarded, minimized, or taken for granted just to cash in on Christmas.

But that is not why I'm asking you to hold off on your commercialized Christmas rush this year. My request actually comes from the bottom of my heart and a sincere need to protect and support my mother and family.

We are devastated over the recent passing of my sweet step-father, Dave, and this will be our first holiday without him. We need more time to heal and mend and prepare our hearts for a Thanksgiving without him leading our family in Grace at the dinner table.

Our hearts are still so very heavy and there is a layer of sadness in my family that is difficult to describe other than to say it is a sadness so deep that Thanksgiving, my step-dad's very favorite holiday, is too hard for us to imagine yet without him.

We started preparing for Thanksgiving months ago, well before Dave's passing. His famous Pretzel Jello Salad and Cranberry Jello were two dishes he planned to lovingly prepare just the way everyone likes them.

He was going to help move the furniture out of their living room so the dining room table could stretch all the way to their front bay window allowing our entire family, young and old, to all be around the same Thanksgiving table together. It's a lot of work but it was that important to Dave and he'd have gladly rolled up his sleeves and made it happen with the help of my nephews and brother.

I know Dave had been thinking about what he would say that he was most thankful for this year when it was his turn to share with the family. It's our tradition before dessert-- to always go around the table and not only thank god and our folk's for the wonderful meal but we also give thanks and verbalize something important to each of us from the past year. We'll never know what Dave was holding in his heart to share but you can be sure he is one person we are all deeply thankful for.

This Thanksgiving will be so difficult for my family, especially our Mom because very honestly, her heart has broken into a thousand pieces. It's obvious to see when the thought of life without her Beloved crosses Mom's mind. And now with so many retailers and corporations all but ignoring Thanksgiving and it's significance makes Mom and my family feel even more devastated by our loss.

We as a family are in desperate need of Thanksgiving and the opportunity to come together and remember the things we are thankful for. As we hold hands to say Grace before our meal I have no doubt tears will flow, but I pray that it is also a time to help the healing process and for us to remember not just our sweet Dave, but also the many things we have been blessed with and are thankful for this year.

So again I ask-- Please do not rush into Christmas yet-- Let Thanksgiving Come First-- for all the right reasons, and because my mom and family are not yet ready to face a holiday with one less loved one in our life.

Sincerely, Joanna Jenkins

It's time to roll the Thanksgiving Comes First boulder up the mountain of Christmas advertising that seems to inundate us earlier and earlier with each passing year. Click HERE to read Suldog's annual post then join in and help spread the word.