(Photo courtesy of: The Today Show) “Thanksgiving is a debated holiday.”
Riley Fontana
Connector Editor
Putting aside the colonization of the holiday, Thanksgiving is bad. There is nothing this holiday has going for it except for tradition. This holiday only brings fights, stress and tons of wasted food.
If you like Thanksgiving, you can already tell this article is not for you and I would suggest you stop reading here. This is not a holiday anyone still needs to celebrate.Most of us have already come to terms with the fact that the pilgrims were murderers who slaughtered people in their own land and this is what Thanksgiving celebrates. I just do not think a massive meal is the right way to celebrate the atrocities of our ancestors.
I can put aside the horrors of the pilgrims to address my other issues with Thanksgiving. Everyone complains about the family arguments that break out at the table every year. without fail, and sends warnings to the family group chat to not talk about politics. Things like this could be avoided by just not celebrating the holiday or not inviting family who can not behave like adults over.
There is also the issue of the over consumption that this, and many other holidays, promote. So much food goes to waste after dinner is over because it just rots for weeks in the fridge. Things like this could be avoided by making smaller portions or cooking things you know your family will actually eat. This is not the ideal time to try out a new recipe in bulk just because the cousins are coming.
Thanksgiving is also incredibly expensive, between the food and drinks as well as table settings and decorations for those who feel the need to decorate the house while hosting. People seem completely against reusing decorations from years prior, when, in reality, no one is ever going to realize that someone is reusing the same plastic pumpkin. Most of these decorations will end up in a thrift store, if lucky, or in the trash.
The last thing I am going to talk about is how difficult this holiday is for anyone who struggles with food or eating. This covers eating disorders, pregnancies, medication side effects, picky eaters and so much more. I struggle greatly to eat in front of people and with the fear of food making me sick; but at Thanksgiving dinner, I need to eat more and am judged for the lack of food selections I am having. It is incredibly difficult because when people voice why they may not be eating much, they are told “you’re ruining dinner” or “you don’t need to bring your health into this.”
Thanksgiving is a horrible holiday that creates a ton of unneeded stress and waste. There is so much this holiday does to create tension and arguments in families when it is easily the most skippable holiday during the fall and winter. The only good thing this holiday brings is a few days off school which is much needed at this point in the semester; but, at the same time, winter break is a few weeks away so 3 days off really is not helping that much.
