Whatever Happened To Thanksgiving?

This has been on my mind for weeks and I just can't keep it to myself any longer.

It all began when I went shopping the third week of October for our annual "Boomaster" trophy to be given to the winner of our employee pumpkin decorating contest.  I walked into Kirklands to find not only all of the Halloween merchandise marked down to clearance prices but also all of the Thanksgiving.  And when I say 'all of' I mean a small shelving unit of Halloween and an even smaller display table with maybe a dozen Thanksgiving items on it.  But, hey, it was just Kirklands, right?

A week later, I began shopping for a 'Little Pumpkins' diaper shower that our women's ministry is hosting for our local pregnancy center this Saturday.  Pumpkins should be easy to find at the end of October and beginning of November, right?

Wrong!

Walmart's Thanksgiving section is anemic...if you can find it.  A few clearance tablecloths and kitchen towels stood at one end of an aisle.  An assortment of placemats and fall candles stood at the other.  Not a dish or a fake pumpkin to be seen!

Target?  Nope!

Michael's netted me a small bag with one fake pumpkin and four strings of felt pumpkin garlands.

Hobby Lobby is probably the best place for Thanksgiving items...but even that selection tends to be a little sparse outside of dishware and garlands.

Even finding fall candy for the candy buffet has been a challenge.  Candy Corn, which was everywhere before Halloween has disappeared.  And if you think anyone actually carries all those cute bags of M&M's in fall colors...you're delirious.  I found two!  TWO!  But if you want the green and red ones for Christmas...I can hook you up!!!

Oh...and HEB was out of turkeys THREE AND A HALF WEEKS before Thanksgiving!

Maybe it's been this way for awhile...the disappearing of Thanksgiving, I mean.  I haven't noticed.

We normally spend Thanksgiving on the deer lease with my Dad's side of the family and I am never responsible for much more than a covered dish.  But this year, we are spending Thanksgiving at home.  Dear friends are traveling across the country to see us before they move to the Philippines where they are retiring.  And last year, with most of our family back here in Houston, I longed to be home with them.

And so it is that I find myself on the great Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt.  I'm pretty sure I will eventually find that turkey...but it sure makes me sad to realize that our whole culture has nearly eliminated a national holiday.  One that's very meaning is to gather with family and simply say 'Thank You, Lord' for our many blessings.

Whatever happened to Thanksgiving?