Thanksgiving

Giving thanks - Thanksgiving, an American tradition celebrated by feasting on turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and a variety of other dishes favored by individual families.  But the attitude of giving thanks is quickly deteriorating into an attitude of greed with shopping now becoming the focus.  When I was a girl, all stores were closed on Thanksgiving.  There was no such thing as Black Friday, and stores were not decorated for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.  There was no madness to get the best deals; there was no Cyber Monday, no on-line shopping.  Instead, there was anticipation in the search and joy in the finding of the right gift for each person on your list.  Giving was from the heart, not from the television ads that provoked desire for the newest gadgets and latest version of some electronic device that someone thinks they must have.
But I digress!  My husband and I celebrated a traditional Thanksgiving with people we had never met until they walked in the door - 3 students from China, now attending Duke University, and the mother of one of the young ladies.  Because our children were scattered to other states and other sides of the family, we were left to celebrate the day alone but decided instead to host internationals through a program in our church, iMix.  One of the young ladies attends our Chinese church, and she brought her mother and 2 friends.
Opening our home to strangers is biblical, and it was a most interesting event.  Foods which I prepare with no forethought became the subject of photo after photo, question after question, and multiple comments upon consumption.  Things ordinary to us were first events to our Chinese guests.  Language wasn't a problem as they, except the mother, spoke very good English. 
After our guests left and I finished cleaning all the pots and pans, I was exhausted but filled with a sense of joy that we were able to provide an opportunity to 4 Chinese people to experience an American Thanksgiving.  Yet I often wonder what they think of the madness they see on television to purchase gifts that can't be given for more than a month.  Black Friday has now spilled over into Thanksgiving Day, and within a few years I'm certain the sales will start the day before Thanksgiving and will run right through Thanksgiving.  Black Friday will be a thing of the past.
I make it a point NOT to shop on Friday.  I had to pick up my new eye glasses on Saturday and did that late in the afternoon and then picked up a few things at a chain retail store, and I found it amazingly quiet in the store.  Apparently all the madness and crazy shoppers had done their thing, and now the rest of us can shop in peace and quiet, not swallowed up by the insanity that has kicked off the Christmas shopping season.  And yes, it is Christmas, not holiday season.  God gave his greatest gift to the world, and that's why we have Christmas.  The truth will never change even though man's interpretation of it does.  God gave, we received.  Let's try to keep that in mind as we maneuver through the store aisles during the coming weeks.