The nature of Thanksgiving

It is fashionable to decry the metamorphosis of Thanksgiving from a day on which the Pilgrims gave special thanks to a day that primarily signals the official beginning of the Christmas shopping season.
George Will bats that concept around on the page opposite this, even as he acknowledges that the Christmas shopping season seems to begin nowadays somewhere closer to Labor Day.
And we suppose there is something to be said for the theory that Thanksgiving isn't what it used to be. (Georgie Anne Geyer examines that concept from the perspective of a Chicago native, also on the page opposite this.)
But we're not so sure that Thanksgiving has fallen on such hard times.
We think a lot of people still put the day to its proper use.
What's happening
It's a day for families to get together -- if it weren't, yesterday and Sunday would not be the two busiest travel days of the year. It's a day when traditions are born. Across the country, thousands of young children are watching that first Thanksgiving Day parade, the one that sets a pattern for dozens of Thanksgiving mornings over the course of their lives.
Others will be watching traditional football games with uncles and cousins they don't see on days other than holidays.
And at some point most families will gather around a table laden with tradition, from mom's pumpkin or sweet potato pie to Mama Stamberg's cranberry relish (a concoction of cranberries, sour cream and horseradish that Susan Stamberg has been flogging on National Public Radio for about 30 years).
Thanksgiving is a day that can turn almost anything (even relish that is Pepto Bismal pink) into a tradition.
Traditions are good things.
And at most tables the tradition remains of pausing for at least a few moments to give thanks.
Opening day
As to Thanksgiving as opening day of the holiday season, that's not such a bad thing either.
Because one of the traditions of the holiday season remains that of giving, of sharing our bounty with others. Lots of people, young and old, still do that. See the story on B-1 about young Wayne Claycomb.
And there's plenty of opportunity for all of us to do more. See the story on A-1 about how plant closings and downsizings have created more people who need a helping hand this year.
To the extent that Thanksgiving acts as a focal point for people, to remind them that this is the season for being thankful for what we have and for sharing some of it with the less fortunate, the day comes none to soon.
Our hope on this day is that you have much to be thankful for. If this has been a particularly hard year -- and for many it has been, especially for those with friends and family members called to war -- our wish is that you find the strength to persevere and the faith to know that there will always be something to be thankful for, today and every day.