As the holidays draw near, the feelings of warmth and security an individual gets when surrounded by those closest to them are noticeably fainter than they have been in previous years. It seems that as time goes on, the familial aspect of the holidays, especially Thanksgiving, has been watered down in order to make it more marketable to consumers. Also, the day itself is now practically ignored in order to make room for more profitable traditions such as Black Friday. Capitalism, commercialism, and retail together have managed to not only completely change the meaning and story behind centuries old tradition, but are now beginning to eradicate it completely, because they have replaced the important values with their own. The more time and energy
…show more content…
Despite the popular idea that the Thanksgiving tradition began with the 1621 autumn harvest feast shared between the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians, the holiday was not recognized nationally until nearly 200 years later. Sara Josepha Hale, a writer most commonly known for her nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, launched a 36 year campaign to have Thanksgiving recognized as a national holiday. Over this time Hale sent countless letters to countless politicians, and even wrote recipes for dishes such as turkey and pumpkin pie. Though they were not a part of the original Thanksgiving feast, these foods would become almost synonymous with the day in the years to come. Finally in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, her requests were honored by Abraham Lincoln, who declared Thanksgiving a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Thursday of every November. In the following years Thanksgiving became an American tradition. It was the embodiment of the ideas of family and togetherness, and the Thanksgiving dinner table became a symbol for the American …show more content…
By being attracted to these signs, consumers begin to become more prone to reducing time spent with their families and using time to spend money. People purchase the items because society depicts that around Thanksgiving is the right time to buy them. Leonard points out how there is a certain extent a consumer should go to acquire a product (132). Because of how society is constructed today, people go the extra mile for luxurious items. Though consumers become aroused by products that cost hundreds of dollars, they fail to realize the production price of the products amounts to little as ten
Despite the popular idea that the Thanksgiving tradition began with the 1621 autumn harvest feast shared between the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag Indians, the holiday was not recognized nationally until nearly 200 years later. Sara Josepha Hale, a writer most commonly known for her nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, launched a 36 year campaign to have Thanksgiving recognized as a national holiday. Over this time Hale sent countless letters to countless politicians, and even wrote recipes for dishes such as turkey and pumpkin pie. Though they were not a part of the original Thanksgiving feast, these foods would become almost synonymous with the day in the years to come. Finally in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, her requests were honored by Abraham Lincoln, who declared Thanksgiving a national holiday to be celebrated on the last Thursday of every November. In the following years Thanksgiving became an American tradition. It was the embodiment of the ideas of family and togetherness, and the Thanksgiving dinner table became a symbol for the American …show more content…
By being attracted to these signs, consumers begin to become more prone to reducing time spent with their families and using time to spend money. People purchase the items because society depicts that around Thanksgiving is the right time to buy them. Leonard points out how there is a certain extent a consumer should go to acquire a product (132). Because of how society is constructed today, people go the extra mile for luxurious items. Though consumers become aroused by products that cost hundreds of dollars, they fail to realize the production price of the products amounts to little as ten