Evolving holidays

[Kacey]

How have you seen holidays change in your lifetime? Do you agree with the changes or not?

Chanukah is not traditionally a major holiday; in fact, the only gifts given were traditional small - traditionally coins given to children (thus, gelt - foil-wrapped candy that looks like money - which has become traditional for Chanukah). Only because of its proximity to Christmas is Chanukah a major holiday - much less a major gift-giving holiday.

When I was a kid, Chanukah was not a big deal; there were few Chanukah cards to be found outside the Temple Sisterhood's gift shop, candles had to be purchased there as well (I bought mine this year at the grocery store); gifts given for Chanukah were vastly overshadowed by my father's and sister's birthdays, both of which are in December, and my mother's, which is in January. We would spend the first evening with family friends, eating latkes (potato pancakes), lighting the candles, and playing games; we would gather as a family every night to light the candles. There were gifts, yes - but they were few, and small, and mostly from grandparents.

Today... well, the commercialization of Chanukah has progressed right along with the commercialization of Christmas; a previously untapped market is being exploited quite freely.

And Chanukah is not the only holiday that this occurs with - there are quite a few holidays that didn't used to be gift - or at least card - holidays, that now are, thanks to the card companies; I received no fewer than 3 cards each for Halloween and Thanksgiving.

What do you think of the evolution of holidays? Of religions in general? What parts do you agree with? Disagree with? It should be pretty obvious that I'm not too thrilled about the commercialization of Chanukah, among other holidays - but there are some things that are good, as well - I do enjoy getting gifts, even if that wasn't part of the holiday originally, and I certainly enjoy the general feeling of fellowship that accompanies the December holiday season (as long as I stay out of shopping malls) - how about you?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale,[2] proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863:

Abraham Lincoln's successors as president followed his example of annually declaring the final Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving.

But in 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that Thanksgiving would be the second-to-last Thursday of November rather than the last.

However, since a presidential declaration of Thanksgiving Day was not legally binding, 23 states went along with Roosevelt's recommendation, and 22 did not. Other states, like Texas, could not decide and took both weeks as government holidays. Roosevelt persisted in 1940 to celebrate his "Franksgiving," as it was termed. The U.S. Congress in 1941 split the difference and passed a bill requiring that Thanksgiving be observed annually on the fourth Thursday of November, which was sometimes the last Thursday and sometimes (less frequently) the next to last.

On November 26 of that year President Roosevelt signed this bill, for the first time making the date of Thanksgiving a matter of federal law.

Since 1970, a group of Native Americans and others have held a National Day of Mourning protest on Thanksgiving at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

--Source-Wikipedia

 

[Ping898]

I have to admit, I have no issues with the cards that come along with Thanksgiving and Halloween, I don't know, for me it is a quick and dirty and easy excuse to send someone a card to let them know that in general I am thinking of them and I think that Thanksgiving especially cause I tend to spend it alone getting a card is a nice way of knowing my family and friends care about me....
As for the commercialization of Christmas and Chanukah, I guess I tend to accept it as just the nature of the beast and my family Christmas as far as I can tell has changed really over the years when it comes to the amount or type of gifts given...eventually when I have my own family, I expect to keep things the same....my kids will not be getting a PSP and dirt bike and gift cards (like the secretary at work was giving her kids) for Christmas....
To me Christmas is still a religious holiday and if I begin to loose sight of that, then I think I will start to worry. As for the malls and such....hey if I can get things cheap...I am all for it....

 

[exile]

When I was a kid, Thanksgiving was a much bigger deal than it currently is, where it now almost passes unnoticed here. My guess is that this has to do with the pressure from the retail sector to begin the Christmas shopping season hysteria as early as possible, for obvious reasons. Thanksgiving, a family-oriented holiday without any major-gift component, isn't doing stores and manufacturers (except turkey producers, cranberry farmers and a few other such) much good, so—predictably—it has become increasingly downplayed and the Christmas music and advert campaigns now begin very soon after Hallowe'en, for pity's sake! When I was in grade school, it would have been unthinkable for stores to start advertising Xmas stuff before Thanksgiving, but now... well, different story, eh?

 

[Phoenix44]

I am just thrilled when Chanukah is several weeks earlier than Christmas, as it was this year. It's much less commercial and hectic.