Back off Christmas merchants! Thanksgiving needs some breathing room and rightful recognition as a stand-alone holiday.

I couldn’t believe it! In late October, I walked into a Walmart store and heard Christmas music playing. Are you kidding me? It’s bad enough when Christmas items are displayed in stores earlier and earlier, but now Christmas music playing in October – back off Christmas merchants! You are Jingle, Jingle Belling it before we are giving thanks.

Just look at the impact you are having on our society. By overshadowing Thanksgiving, people are:

  • Sending fewer personalized, handwritten thank you notes
  • Seeking immediate gratification and sinking further into debt
  • Feeling less happy, less satisfied in their daily lives

Look at the statistics as the recognition of Thanksgiving declines:

Saving Thanksgiving

All right, I made this chart up… But, just look around, you can see this happening. I’m not that far off.

Rather than seeing which store can have Christmas stuff displayed first, just take a corner of your store and keep a display all year, 24 x 7. You win! Just do it!

Let me be clear – I am not anti-Christmas. Hardly. Christmas is a wonderful, meaningful, joyous holiday. At the same time, I also am very pro-Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times for many reasons. Some of them include:

  • Thanksgiving is a time for reflection, renewal, and rest. It is a time when everyone can take a deep breath and be grateful for everything and everyone around them.
  • Thanksgiving sets a tone of having a thankful heart, mind, and attitude. These are the lasting elements of this one day.
  • Thanksgiving is a day to realize that diverse people and situations are what bring us together as well as make us unique as a country. We have a bountiful land and nature, and it is a time to share this across all citizens.
  • Thanksgiving, in general, is a “clean” holiday. It has not been taken over by commercialism. Sure, there is Black Friday, but that is the day after and really belongs to a part of the Christmas “spirit.”

So, Christmas merchants, wait until Halloween passes; wait till Veterans are honored; wait till we all give thanks on Thanksgiving; and then, on the Friday afterwards, go wild with your promotions and sing the holiday tunes out loudly!

Please give Thanksgiving some breathing room. It will result in greater satisfaction, gratitude and, most importantly, thankfulness and giving.