(Halloween gets weeks of spooky celebrations, and Christmas seems to arrive earlier every year. But somewhere between the costumes and Christmas lights, is Thanksgiving being left behind?)
Every autumn, Americans watch as stores transform their shelves from Halloween decorations to Christmas ornaments seemingly overnight. Pumpkins and skeletons disappear, only to be replaced by artificial trees, twinkling lights, and holiday gift sets. Christmas music begins playing, advertisements encourage early shopping, and festive displays appear long before Thanksgiving dinner is served. While there is certainly nothing wrong with preparing for Christmas early, the rapid transition raises an interesting question: Is Thanksgiving slowly becoming the forgotten holiday?
Unlike Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving does not revolve around elaborate costumes, extravagant decorations, or exchanging presents. For many families, its traditions are comparatively simple: preparing a meal, gathering around a table, watching football, and spending time together. Perhaps that simplicity is part of the problem from a commercial perspective. There are fewer gifts to advertise and fewer seasonal products to promote. Thanksgiving certainly generates significant spending on food and travel, but it rarely receives the same attention in store displays or holiday marketing. As retailers compete for early Christmas shoppers, Thanksgiving can seem like little more than a brief interruption in the holiday shopping season.
However, the argument that Thanksgiving is disappearing deserves some perspective. Millions of Americans still celebrate it through family gatherings, shared meals, parades, and personal traditions. For some, Thanksgiving remains one of the most meaningful occasions of the year precisely because it places less emphasis on gift-giving. Others have complicated feelings about the holiday because of its historical associations with colonization and the experiences of Indigenous peoples. Families may also choose to celebrate differently, whether through Friendsgiving, volunteering, or simply enjoying a quiet day at home. Thanksgiving is not necessarily losing its importance; its meaning and the ways people observe it may be changing.
Still, there is something worth considering about how quickly we rush from one celebration to the next. When Christmas preparations begin before Halloween has even ended, Thanksgiving can struggle to receive its own moment of recognition. Perhaps the solution is not to criticize people who decorate early or begin their holiday shopping in October, but to remember that Thanksgiving offers something valuable in its own right: an opportunity to slow down, reconnect, reflect, and appreciate what matters. So, is Thanksgiving truly becoming the forgotten holiday, or have we simply allowed the excitement of Christmas to overshadow it?
