In defense of Thanksgiving

Driving in Westwood one cold autumn evening, I notice that the trees on Gayley and Westwood are brightly lit with holiday-themed lights, while students bustle in and out of the Starbucks with red cups. Storefronts and restaurants are decorated with tinsel, lights and Santa hats, while Ackerman Union stocks “questionably demonic Santa and snowman pens” on its shelves. At the Westfield mall in Century City, you can faintly hear Christmas music in the air from some of the stores. Local radio station KOST 103.5 began playing Christmas music on Nov. 12, a whole two weeks prior for to the other major cold weather holiday.

It feels like Christmas morning already, but actually, it isn’t.

Thanksgiving is this Thursday, for god’s sake.

The pumpkin spice-scented dust in the air has barely had a chance to settle, yet we’re already moving at a speedy clip into the season of consumption surrounding Christmas and other less commercialized holidays. Termed “Black Friday creep,” it feels like retailers have begun preparing for the holiday shopping season earlier and earlier. In the cases of prominent large retailers, such as Target and J.C. Penney, many have even stripped their own employees of enjoying Thanksgiving with their own families by choosing to begin Black Friday sales early.

In Westwood, this trend extends beyond the commercial. For the most part, any timely December holiday parties for UCLA students would mostly consist of intense group crying in light of impending final exams. Students seem to either celebrate early, or not at all. One of my own organizations held a holiday party, complete with White Elephant gift exchange, last Friday. It’s clear that for many UCLA students, holiday cheer is best expressed when convenient to do, even if that precedes a major national holiday.

This year, it feels like some companies are fighting back against the creep. REI, H&M, Nordstrom, and other companies are choosing to let their employees spend time with their families on Turkey Day. In the soulless commercial world of the holiday shopping season, it’s nice to know that some corporations and businesses still feel a minimal amount of humanity – or maybe because the bottom line to opening on Thanksgiving Day just isn’t adding up.

For those in college, the season of peppermint mocha and man-made snow in the air at the Grove is also the season of studying for finals and near-mental breakdowns. It may be tempting to skip over Thanksgiving and head straight into the season of snowmen and Santa hats, but today, I implore you to take a stand against holiday creep. Unlike the commercialization of the holiday season and Christmas in particular, Thanksgiving is based upon values relatively uncorrupted by the consumption: the gathering to give thanks for the love we share with our friends and family and other blessings in life. Can we not rush past it?

Holidays are special days, both for rest and for celebration. In a nation where the average American works 10-and-a-half hours a day on average, and on a campus where long, intense days on campus are relatively common, we should savor both the rest and the traditions surrounding holidays. Otherwise, we may just take them for granted, and create a franken-holiday like Hallowthankmas.

This week, bask in the glow of the pumpkin spice latte for just awhile longer, and drink apple cider with glee. Celebrate each holiday, one at a time, and this Thanksgiving, be thankful you have at least one week before finals.