Does anybody else think we’re rushing Christmas a bit more than usual?

The day after Halloween, I noticed one of my neighbors had already hung his outside Christmas lights. Not only that, but our city has erected Christmas decorations, the shopping mall has its holiday trimmings up, “Jingle Bells” and such are playing on the radio stations, and some people even have their Christmas trees glowing from inside their windows.

Excuse me, but don’t we have another holiday to fall between Halloween and Christmas? Thanksgiving, remember?

Sure you remember. That’s the “feast” day — bring on the turkey, the trimmings, and the pumpkin pie! Loosen the belt buckles, watch football until your eyes grow weary, allow yourself the luxury of a nap.

It seems like The Food Channel is the only one talking about Thanksgiving these days!

With the nation’s economy in the pits, it’s no wonder merchants are pushing HARD for business, but some were even advertising Black Friday sales at the beginning of November.

That makes me kind of sad. I look forward to the urgency of those day-after-Thanksgiving sales, when throngs of people line up outside stores in the wee hours of the morning (stars still out and everything!) to await the opening of the doors, the mad rush inside, and the frantic grabbing of sale items!

Every year seems to have its hard-to-find, must-have item. Remember Cabbage Patch dolls? How about the Nintendo GameBoy, Razor Scooters, or Tickle Me Elmo? They practically guaranteed pandemonium when reports announced such items were in short supply.

I recall racing through a store one Black Friday to get a DVD player My Favorite Domer had to have! Funny how the “getting” of such items far surpasses the actual pleasure of “having” them.

But life’s like that, isn’t it? Too often, we relish the chase more than the prize itself.

Which brings me back to Thanksgiving.

Rather than trying to skip over this holiday in a mad rush to get the Christmas preparations underway, shouldn’t we simply enjoy this special time for what it means — faith, family, feast, and much thanks?