Kristine Perez | Contributing Writer
opinion@fiusm.com
It’s that time of year again — time to pick out an outfit, set the table, and spend all day cooking. The Thursday of all Thursdays is among us, as we prepare to eat our weight in food and endure conversations with distant family — cue the questions about life we don’t have the answers to.
While Thanksgiving is a very important holiday that should be cherished with loved ones, it does not always turn out as well as we wish and expect. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving has become the infamous and dreadful day of the year where the entire family is walking on their toes, trying to one up each other, and attempting to seem like they have their lives together. People tend to force themselves to spend the evening with people they would rather avoid, all for the gratitude of saying they celebrated Thanksgiving the “right way.”
Frankly, none of this would even be an issue if the holiday was spent with people we love, trust, and enjoy — and this does not always suggest family. Thanksgiving should be spent with people whom we truly want to be sitting next to for an entire night without feeling uncomfortable and unwanted. However, we are usually found in the exact opposite situation as family members we never talk to suddenly have an interest in our day-to-day lives. With great reason, so many young adults are leaning towards the invitation to a “Friendsgiving” rather than the traditional one at home — as if a Thanksgiving spent with someone other than family requires another name; after all, it is not called “Familygiving”.
Those who decide to spend the holiday in another house should not be blamed or frowned upon because the give and take is far from an actual consequence. While you may be giving up the perfectly cooked turkey, expensive wine, and long table of perfectly set china, you would get a much more gratifying night of genuine laughter and true conversation. Rather than trying to avoid the nosey family member who wants to know why you showed up without a date, you can reminisce with friends and retell the funny stories about why no one made the cut. Instead of explaining — and improvising — what the plan for the rest of you life is, friends will want to discuss anything but the future.
Given the opportunity to have a national holiday that entails eating, drinking, loving, and giving thanks, there is no need to feel that there are rules we must follow to celebrate correctly. The holiday was not created on the basis that it is spent in a specific manner with the same people year after year. Nowhere does it say that the last Thursday of November must be a dreadful one filled with boredom and dismay. If there are any rules at all, they should say to eat as much as you want, laugh as much as possible, enjoy the day to the fullest, and love everyone you surround yourself with.
Thanksgiving is neither the time nor the place for scrutinizing conversations; if someone cares enough throughout the year, they would not have a list of bombarding questions for this one occasion. After a year of hard work, this day off should not be wasted on small talk and awkward encounters when we have the opportunity to rejoice all the things we are thankful for with the people we are thankful for.
Great article especially for Americans who do not have a family and are excluded from the holidays. We don’t speak about this very much.