Thanksgiving and Christmas occur about a month apart, but Christmas is at the top of the majority of Americans’ lists, while Thanksgiving just passes each year. A lot of this comes down to blaming the media for making Christmas more commercialized, which is the reason it prevails, but also the reason why a lot of people don’t like Christmas. Our Acorn staff believes that Christmas feels more like a season than a holiday because of all the holiday drinks, traditions, decorations, movies, and even the songs associated with Christmas and the winter time. Thanksgiving seems to pass because it is not engaging enough to become a major focus in many people’s lives. We believe that Thanksgiving is a great time to spend time with family, but there are no other activities besides eating and watching football that go along with it.
There is a religious aspect to both of these holidays, and why Christmas gets more attention than Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Christmas is an important holiday for Christians across the globe, whereas Thanksgiving isn’t specifically tied to a religion at all. Our staff believes that Christmas is celebrated more in our country because Christianity is one of the main religions that Americans identify with. With the commercialized aspect of Christmas, it has drawn attention to Christianity, but we as a staff think that all religions should be equally celebrated, and one is not more important than the other just because more people celebrate it.
The meaning of Christmas has also changed over time because of the image of having a perfect Hallmark Christmas. There has been added pressure and stress on many to go all out for Christmas in ways that they haven’t in the past. As an outcome, receiving gifts has become most important for many people which can be a result of human nature or the materialistic traditions Christmas has pushed for over the years.
We, as a staff, believe that both Thanksgiving and Christmas are important holidays to celebrate, but Christmas stands out to many because it feels more like a season than an actual holiday. There are overall more activities to do during the winter season than during Thanksgiving. We don’t believe that Christmas is better than Thanksgiving, but it is more shown in the media and by decorations that it implies how important it is to many Americans.
