Column by J1 Reporter Ashley Johanek

If you love mashed potatoes, turkey, pumpkin pie and eating it all with those you love, then Thanksgiving is the holiday for you. However, Thanksgiving gets overshadowed year after year as Black Friday keeps inching its way more and more into Thanksgiving Day. Everyone overlooks the one holiday where we get to express our gratitude for what we have been blessed with. It has become a “holiday” of shopping until our pocketbooks are empty. 

Black Friday is the one day out of the whole year where every store offers their biggest sales of the year. I mean I get it, it’s hard to pass up all the luxury items at their cheapest. Who wouldn’t want a new, top dollar television for under $500?

By the time Thanksgiving day arrives, the true beauty of the holiday is lost as everyone anxiously scours the ads in the daily paper and plans their shopping route. The true meaning of the holiday is gratitude for the food on the table and the people we share it with. Some families have traditions that make it even more special. In my family, we play an annual football game with over 20 cousins plus all my uncles. We definitely have enough to make two teams. I wouldn’t trade Grandma’s pumpkin pie and after dinner card games with my family for anything.

Gone are the days where lines formed outside Walmart at 5 a.m. for the latest gadget or popular toy. My mom told me about times people got trampled on just to get Cabbage Patch dolls or Tickle Me Elmo. Not that I would want to be among that kind of crazy, but the camaraderie of standing in line with anticipation sounded like fun. 

Without Thanksgiving being celebrated properly, we forget the importance of getting together with family and expressing gratitude. I understand Black Friday means Christmas shopping will be cheaper, but at what expense? Let’s get back to recognizing what is most important and taking this one day to be forever grateful for what God has blessed us with.