Thanksgiving: The One Holiday We Can’t Ruin
I love Halloween. And I know I liked it as a kid, but I think I might enjoy it even more as an adult. I know what you’re thinking—and I agree. As a card-carrying curmudgeon and vocal kids-are-the-worst advocate, it definitely doesn’t add up. To that, I don’t know what to say. There’s just something about it. I like the sweetness of it—and I’m not talking about the candy. As someone who is definitely also a sucker for nostalgia, maybe it’s as simple as that. I like the fact that it still exists mostly as I remember it as a child—and I like doing my part to contribute to that carrying on.
Needless to say, I had high hopes for Halloween this past year. A dry, crisp-but-not-too-cold Friday night? Conditions were perfect. Needless to say, I went into the evening predicting a bumper crop of trick-or-treaters to cycle through.
Instead, it wound up being the worst year on record at my current post—easily the slowest/ quietest Halloween I can remember in the eleven years I’ve spent stationed out on my front porch.
Was it just a weird little blip? Maybe just my block? Seems possible. Neighborhoods ebb and flow. I’ve seen it happen. My parents have been in the same house for 30+ years. Families move in, they have children, they trick-or-treat, they grow up, and one day, they move on. Eventually, new people move in, and the cycle repeats. Perhaps it’s just a somewhat fallow period for trick-or-treaters on the north side of the Westside.
But then I went to the internet, and it quickly became clear that what I was observing seemed like a broader trend. The neighborhood Facebook page, Lansing Reddit, even a few Internet think pieces—to varying degrees, it seemed like all corners of the internet have clocked the same thing: Halloween—at least as we’ve always known it—is waning.
“Why?”, you ask. Good question. Like anything, a myriad of factors has likely contributed: COVID, inflation, soft parents, soft children, safety concerns, the rise of trunk-or-treating (stupid), probably food allergies, probably the internet/social media... The list goes on.
Regardless of the reason(s), one thing seems clear: we’re collectively doing a pretty good job of ruining Halloween.
Classic.
Seriously, what don’t we ruin? What aspect of American culture, what piece of everyday normal life isn’t worse now than it was 30 years ago? Name something. And I know we’ve made strides in some big ways over the years, but I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the everyday, run-of-the-mill minutia that fills your day-to-day. Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute.
…….
Did you come up with like, ONE thing? Was it TV? And are you even sure about that? Think about your Friends and your Seinfeld. My point is, we suck.
Which brings me to Thanksgiving—my favorite holiday, and it’s not even close.
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite, and I’m sure that will always be the case. Mostly because I’m also fairly confident it’s the one holiday we can’t manage to ruin. Hallmark/Hansbro/Butterball—they all really dropped the ball by not figuring out a better way to commercialize this.
Instead—and unbelievably—we’ve actually been left ourselves. And by and large, it seems like we haven’t done anything to screw that up. Regardless of the fact that all families grow, shrink, and change over time, it seems like we’re all pretty happy to go on enjoying Thanksgiving in more or less the same way year after year—gathering with friends and family for a shared meal, being grateful for what we have, and maybe watching some football/parade/dog show.
That’s it. It’s simple. And it’s perfect.
And I don’t know about you, but I know I find a tremendous amount of comfort in that.