Today is a day when we stop to thank God for what he has given us over the last year. It is a day steeped in cultural symbols and celebrations. But, it is a day that is fast fading as a family day in favor of the Ebenezer Scrooges that are so in vogue right now. And, sadly, many Christians in this country are pushing that train all the way to the station without even realizing that they are doing it. Why do I say that?
Norman Rockwell created paintings that caught something of what it meant to be part of this country and part of a family. One of his most beloved paintings is the Thanksgiving painting that shows a grateful World War II European woman grateful for some food given to the by American GIs. Last year Auth published the drawing above of being thankful for having a family even in the hard times. Our tradition has been that on Thanksgiving, we stop and we give thanks, even for what we do not have.
But, the Ebenezer Scrooges of the world have been hard at work here in the USA. I took a drive this morning. And I saw that the restaurants were open, the gas stations were open, the movie theaters were open, the grocery stores were open, Sears, Kmart, and other stores were open. In fact, there were a large number of establishments open that would never have been open when I was a child. So, I stopped at one of the places and saw a couple of tired and semi-sad cashiers dealing with people and waiting until the grocery store could close so that they could go home to their families and have the Thanksgiving pictured by Normal Rockwell. And it hit my soul.
When I was a child, I can remember being in church class and being taught that on Sunday and holidays, only people who were needed would be at work. And so we were taught to be properly thankful for doctors, nurses, policemen, soldiers, pharmacists, electrical plant employees, and others who made it possible for the society to keep running in order for the rest of us to be able to rest and relax on Thanksgiving. But, over the years there has been an increasing drumbeat of people wanting other establishments to be open. Movie theaters and restaurants were among the first, and often they would not open until after mid-day. But, the pressure has kept building up and now there are actually many unnecessary establishments open whose only purpose is to cater to the whims of those lucky enough to work for a boss that gives them the day off.
Sadly, there is not even any reward for working on that day. Again, when I was small, if you worked a holiday you were paid time and a half. This was good because it discouraged owners from being open since they would make less profit. But, the lady cashier said that they only got straight time. After all, they got another day off in compensation. When did time and a half for working a holiday leave? I do not know, but I suspect about the same time that businesses had to be defended against working class folk who kept asking for a living wage.
This reminded me so much of Ebenezer Scrooge being upset when Bob Cratchitt wanted even a half-day off early to be able to celebrate Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day. Scrooge argued that as he received a paid Christmas Day, he should work until well into the end of Christmas Eve. So also today our modern Scrooges, who open their stores on Thanksgiving and on Christmas, etc. rely on the good Christian folk of this country to come and shop. They also rely on them to never “see” the people who are serving them and to ask whether those people are able to celebrate their holiday. A mystery writer from England called Agatha Christie had one of her characters solve a crime by the simple expedient of checking with the servants. As she commented, people never “see” the servants, they become part of the furniture. So, also, many of us do not see our “servants” and do not even think about that our desires for pleasure and gratification are keeping them from their families.
Yes, this is a rant. But, it is a rant meant to call us to attention. Even though the myth is not true, remember the myth of the frog who is boiled without noticing by slowly raising the temperature in the pan in which it is found. In the same way, all too many of us have not truly noticed that the changing of our culture has changed us as well. We complain about the commercialism of Christmas but will then be found shopping on Thanksgiving, when we should be home with family, or late Christmas Eve when a good Orthodox or Catholic or many Protestants should be in church. And, when we go shopping, we do not notice the “servants” who are probably there against their desire to be with their families or even in church.
So, yes, I am upset. But I am upset in favor of those who are forced to work because of our desire for pleasure and self-satisfaction. I am upset because we will preach against the commercialism of the holidays and then promptly participate in that commercialism while feeling self-righteous that we have condemned the evil commercialism.
If we are serious about changing the commercialism, then we have to think of the “servants” and refuse to shop on those days. Let’s face it, no demand for goods will mean shut stores on those days. We have plenty of other days to shop. Let’s truly honor the holidays not only by honoring Our Lord, but by honoring the day itself and letting others get their “day of rest” as well.
I like this article. I also remember when the stores were closed on Sunday. And I keep thinking, what do I need to get on Sunday that I couldn’t get on Saturday? I would love to see us get back to that time, but the world has gotten too materialistic. As for the comments, I don’t believe these people understood what you were saying. All they saw was a name and automatically thought you brought up politics. As for people knowing what they’re going to get paid, during these economic times, one can’t pick and chose one’s employment. You take what you can get or stay unemployed. This is the 1st Thanksgiving I’ve had off in two years. But I was thankful that I had a job. And I agree about Laodecia. We are there.
Great thoughts and I completely agree big brother. All of those people that worked today have families they should have been able to spend time with. My son who was with the myself and the family was called in to work right before we sat down because his boss decided to take the day off saying that he doesn’t work on the holidays. No advance notice that his day off was cancelled. So we boycotted with the blessing of another manager . We sat down with the family, ate our meal, spent time together. and told each other how happy we were to be together. After we were done eating, his cousin and he sang songs which you can see posted on FB. Around 7, we decided it was time for him to go. I took him to work, gave him a kiss, told him I loved him and how happy I was that he could be there for the time that we had. His good friends found out that he had to go to work and were there to spend the rest of the evening with him.
I’ve chosen to believe that a guardian angel decided enough is enough and made sure that call didn’t get through until he was already with us and able to spend some quality time with his family. Miracles do happen. 🙂
I’m thankful to God for the Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving that my family just had, with extended family and friends. One of them is my cousin, who was able to come for the long weekend because he had just completed 9 days of work in a row, 12 hours each. He’s an engineer, close to retirement, and could afford to say no, even to quit; but he puts up with it. So far.
This is leading into your timely rant:
It’s all about cheap labor. Not only overseas but right here at home, squeezing more hours out of fewer workers to keep costs down, while laying off at the same time. It all guarantees a large and cheap labor pool, until we all wise up. And have you noticed that the Tea Party has it backwards? They support those rich who perpetuate the unemployment lines while oppressing the workers they haven’t laid off! And some of those in the Tea Party are Christians, who must have read the Bible.
“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.”
I’m convinced that many would condemn the words above as the dangerous teachings of Karl Marx. Let’s try to trip them up on this, shall we? It’s from the Bible, as you know; James chapter five.
God bless you on this holiday and always.
Thanks for making that connection! It bothers me when I hear people who claim to be Christian supporting the very un-Christian economic right. They have the audacity to call the poor lazy and take funding from abused women, yet they claim to be Christians, a charitable religion. I wish they’d pick up the book they quote so much.
I was one of those nurses who worked the holidays once my children were grown. My family always scheduled dinner for whenever my shift was over. Yesterday, we did the same–scheduled dinner for when my daughter’s shift was over. She works in a restaurant and had volunteered to work the holiday because the others had children. I was just grateful to celebrate with my daughter, her fiance and a family friend. There has been so much to be grateful for. Everyone has a job–we don’t know for how long, but for today….The sun was shining all day on a beautiful Florida Thanksgiving. I am in the midst of an arthritic flare, but somehow that didn’t matter as we talked to my 85 year old mother who is alive and well and celebrating in another state, heard all the family news–the niece who has survived difficult surgery and is soon able to go back to work, the sister who was just able to buy a new apartment in NY and is safely moved in, the brother who just published a new book, the sister who had a wonderful day with her husband and child, the dear friend who has the first snow of the season and a day off to go snowboarding, the cousins who are settled in their home which is closer to town and which they can manage as they grow older, the cousin whose house was sold and who was able to move to be near specialists who manage his medical condition, the daughter who is laid off but whose significant other just got a raise, the daughter who is finding her way delightfully in another state, a friend’s piglet who got attacked by a dog but was not seriously injured…..and I could go on and on. There are no great grand things–just small delightful blessings. Thank you, thank you.
Father……
Thank you. This post brings tears to my eyes. You honestly have no idea how deep it strikes me, how much it means. I am thankful that I was able to celebrate with my family… and yet, today myself and my parents returned to work. My mother had the dreaded Black Friday shift. All of us to work, leaving my sister more-or-less home alone.
… Thanks, Father. Thanks for this blog, your words elsewhere. Thanks for serving God and the Church as a priest.
… Thanks for everything you do.