Don't forget Thanksgiving comes between Halloween and Christmas

I don't know about you, but I am starting to feel like Thanksgiving is getting left out these days.  Halloween stuff comes out mid-September or earlier, and then come November 1st, Christmas is out and about in the stores...but what happened to that day where we concentrate on being THANKFUL in between getting candy and getting presents?  Now let me say right off the bat, I LOVE CHRISTMAS, and in my car I have listened to Christmas music; but I feel like Thanksgiving is getting squished out.  Now what kind of example is this setting for our kids, get candy-get presents, and squeeze a little thanks in the middle.  And maybe my memory isn’t the best, but I don't remember it being quite this early of a start on Christmas when I was a little girl.  If we got to put up the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving night that would have been the absolute earliest I can ever remember.  Usually it was once December rolled around that we were decking the halls and hanging the stockings.

I want Thanksgiving turkeys to be decorating the stores, and harvest to be the focus.  Then of course, as the end of November approaches, we begin to enjoy the Christmas decorations.  I completely understand hanging your lights and what not while it is still warmer outside, so you don't freeze your hind end off; but don't turn them on yet!!! Put out a horn of plenty, a Turkey wreath on your door, and maybe a few other harvest things around.  Keep hold of your pumpkin stuff a little longer, because after all, pumpkin is a fall harvest fruit.  Yes, a fruit!  So here comes your lesson on pumpkins J

 

A pumpkin is not a vegetable; it's a fruit! In fact, it's a berry. Pumpkins belong to the family Cucurbitaceae, which includes cucumbers, melons, squash, and gourds. Within this family is the genus Cucurbita which includes gourds, winter and summer squash, and all varieties of pumpkin. There are four species that are considered "pumpkins," but only one is the species most people would recognize as the traditional pumpkin used for carving jack-o-lanterns and baking pies.  And this is why on Thanksgiving Day we serve pumpkin pie, because before there was canned pumpkin, people had to use the fruits and veggies harvested at the time for meals and desserts.  This could lead me to a whole different direction about eating what is in season…but I will save that rant for another post. 

I totally realize my opinion won’t stop the media, marketing, and over advertising of Christmas before Thanksgiving, but I did want to make mention of it today along with my pumpkin lesson.  What else can I do but smile and just move on ;)