Today is the day after
Thanksgiving, but it is still a day with its own mythos. It’s Black Friday—a
day with its own rituals, its own traditions, its own expectations. For some people, this is the start of the Christmas
season. For some of us, we’ve been staring in shock at Christmas decorations in
the aisles of the local drugstore since Labor Day—and many of us of the
Episcopal persuasion mutter under our breaths about some weird counter-cultural
thing called “Advent.” For years, though, the actual mad rush for retail kicked
off on this day—Friday. And by the time many of you read this, some people will
have been shopping for more than eight hours!
But the last couple of
years, as part of the endless competition among retailers for advantage, some
stores have opened on Thanksgiving Day itself. There have been some who see no
harm in this—after all, people are free to shop, or not shop, right? Others
push back against the idea of commerce on a national holiday that traditionally
has been about time with family, and take vows not to shop anywhere that opens
on Thanksgiving Day itself. Having once been required by the circumstances in
my life to work in retail, I remember well the experience of Black Friday from
a worker’s standpoint. I am pleased to report that the flashbacks and the
nightmares stopped many years ago—although I will never forget the shopper who
changed his baby’s poopy diaper on the floor of the bookstore where I worked
and then left it and TWO OTHERS there in the shelves (yes!) of the picture
books section. It was the ultimate “Choose Your Own Adventure.”
But I wonder if we do not
risk losing something precious if this breaching of the barrier becomes
widespread. Thanksgiving may be a federal holiday, and a secular one, but it
is nonetheless therefore a sacred day in the truest sense of the word. It is a
secular version of the wise biblical practice of sabbath, which helped everyone
in the community be equals for one day a week. Therefore, I do not think it is
either right or good for anyone for stores to be open on Thanksgiving. I am also thankful for and mindful of our
emergency workers who must leave their families and homes on this day, and I
fear that, if more and more people see this as just another shopping day, more
of these wonderful people will by necessity be deprived of Thanksgiving than
those who already are. Once the line is breached, and it is business as usual
on Thanksgiving, it will be gone forever. Thanksgiving-- and thanksgiving-- should
not be a luxury for a few.
Thanksgiving became an official federal holiday in 1863, by
Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. It was a dark time in American history. Not
quite five months after the simultaneous crucibles of Gettysburg in the eastern
theatre of the war, and Vicksburg in the western theatre, it was by no means a
foregone conclusion that the war would end any time soon, much less that the
country would emerge unified. Yet it was at a time such as this that President
Lincoln called on the entire nation to pause and give thanks for all the good
things with which we were blessed. Here
is the opening sentence of Lincoln’s
1863 proclamation (http://historyscoop.com/2013/11/26/lincolns-thanksgiving-proclamation/):
The year that is drawing
toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and
healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are
prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which
are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften
even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence
of Almighty God.
Even at a time when the country was riven by conflict,
nonetheless there was cause for gratitude. And in calling the country to pause
to give thanks, Lincoln was recognizing the important unifying function that
holidays such as Thanksgiving perform. They remind us of the things that bring
us together as a people. Yet, holidays such as this also do not have any sort
of obvious religious component that would serve to exclude: no matter what
one’s religion—or lack of it—all can participate in being thankful; all can
celebrate the good things they have, and remember that we are brothers and
sisters.
And I think, at its best, Thanksgiving performs a vital function
of asking us to slow down, to reflect on the good things we have, to be
grateful-- and hopefully, to have empathy for those less fortunate than
ourselves. Thanksgiving should be about community and taking care of each
other. People who are forced by economic hardship to work on days such as this
do not have freedom or choice. They HAVE to work, often at part-time jobs that
demand from them full-time availability. And I am not sure that for one or two
days a year it isn't good to pull back from the rampant consumerism that
sickens our society and be able to enjoy time with family, friends, or just
rest-- for the sake of all of our souls. Because the mad sales scrums of Black
Friday will be here soon enough and are indeed upon us. As they say on Game of
Thrones: Winter is Coming.
May we remember even in the bustle to sit back, take a breath,
and continue to remember what really matters, no matter what storms may blow
around us. Gratitude is always necessary. Abraham Lincoln was right to
designate Thanksgiving a national holiday, and he did it in the midst of a
terrible crisis in our country's history. Even in the worst of times, we should
look for that for which we can be thankful, even when it has been somewhat
co-opted as the opening salvo of the War of Christmas that is the shopping
season. Especially as we leap headlong into Black Friday, it’s nice to remember
that time is our most precious gift of all. And, for some of us, at least we
still have Advent!
(This was first published at Episcopal Cafe's Speaking to the Soul on November 27, 2015.)
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