ALT-6 Breaking with Thanksgiving Tradition
For the past 24 years, Thanksgiving has been spent in the home of a relative; whether it be my grandmother's, cousin's, or even my own. This Thanksgiving, however, will be the turn of events for Thanksgivings, and other family holidays, to come.
My grandmother is getting too old. My cousin's apartment is too small. My aunt can't deal with Thanksgiving preparation meltdowns. My mother doesn't want to get stuck doing it every year. With all the excuses stirring in the pot, Thanksgiving will probably be spent in a restaurant from here on out. And I know, in my heart of hearts, that this will be a catalyst for other holidays.
Sure, it might be easier to order food from a menu than to plan a home cooked meal. But am I the only one who holds tradition to be important? When you lose that togetherness in the kitchen, you start to lose sight of the meaning behind the holiday.
Instead of being thankful for friends and family, you become thankful that you weren't the one behind the stove all day. Instead of being thankful for a food and shelter, you're thankful that you didn't have to stress out over cleaning the house.
I have to ask myself...where will it stop? This year, Thanksgiving will be spent dining out. This will probably be the case for all Thanksgivings to come. But what about Christmas? Surely no one will want to step up to the plate to welcome family into their home for that occasion either. Then what are we going to do? Bring our presents to the restaurant? Or maybe just send them to each other through the mail. What about Easter? Before you know it there will be another generation of the family and we won't be able to see their eyes light up when they find that egg of treasures hidden under Aunt Delores and Uncle Steve's picnic table.
Sometimes breaking traditions can make way for new ones, which is good. But other times, times like this, I think it's best to reevaluate what these holidays mean. Put aside the religious and historical meanings. What is really important, or to me at least, is that these holidays bring families together. They remind us that we should always welcome loved ones in our homes and forget about the pile of dishes that will await us after.
What do you have without that sense of welcoming warmth? You have a bunch of people sitting around a table complaining about overpriced the meal is.
