Waging a war against 'turkey day'

Growing up, one of my favorite holidays was Thanksgiving.

Every year I looked forward to getting together with my family and having a great meal.

Back then, when we arrived at someone’s house, they would always say Happy Thanksgiving, or we’d say the same if people were coming to our house.

Now things have changed. More often than not you hear “happy turkey day.”

The sound of people saying happy turkey day is like the proverbial fingernails on a chalk board or any other type of annoying this that will make you a little crazy. Just typing it twice in the last 50 words or so made me throw up a little in my mouth.

Since when did a holiday that is one of the best occasions for family and friends get together get a new name?

Is it now just about eating so much turkey you fall asleep? People always say there is a chemical in turkey that makes them fall asleep. That’s a load of crap, the reason you are so sleepy is you just ate eight pounds of roasted turkey.

I guess it’s no longer about getting together. It’s all about the bird. The bird’s the word and that just doesn’t sit right with me, but not much I can do about it.

I think I might just wear headphones next year so I don’t have to worry about hearing the happy turkey day saying.

And I’ll also stay off all forms of social media so I don’t have to see it in writing.

And since it was just Thanksgiving, this is the perfect segue for me to Grinch my way into some rambling about Christmas.

What was once another special holiday to me as a child has turned into an utter mess. The commercialization of Christmas is almost complete.

No longer is it about what it was intended to me. Even if someone wasn’t religious, it was a time to be together with loved ones.

Now it’s about how much the stores can sell, how many gifts someone gets, or who can put so many lights on their house the power bill probably hits six figures.

It was always so fun going places in early or mid December and seeing some of the decorations and hearing music.

Now as soon as the football season starts in September, you will walk down the aisles of the store and hear Christmas music.

What used to be a month long of anticipation has turned into half the year before Christmas.

And then there is Black Friday.

What on earth is this all about?

Let’s rip apart the true meaning of Christmas and sell nice things really cheap, in fact so cheap people will camp out for a week eager to get the good deal.

People fight and rush around the store not caring who they are intruding upon.

It’s no longer about Christmas, it’s about the best deals.

Much like Christmas, Black Friday has actually become a much longer event. The sales are starting to happen on Thanksgiving and it’s like neither holiday really means something, it’s just stacking up presents.

I hope everyone has a great holiday season and I’ll try to be less of a grump.

Just don’t expect to see me anywhere near a Black Friday sale.