Bring back Thanksgiving

This year I have decided to "Bring back Thanksgiving."  Back when I was a kid, before Black Friday existed, we were taught that Thanksgiving was a celebration of our country and peace between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims. Back then, you didn't put up a Christmas tree until days if not weeks after Thanksgiving and if you dared play Christmas music on Thanksgiving, people were appalled.  Back then, Thanksgiving was it's own holiday to be celebrated for what it was and the reasons President Lincoln wanted us to recognize the day as a holiday.  Now, Thanksgiving is clumped together with Christmas and retail related to spending money.  The stores and malls link Thanksgiving with Christmas to get us to spend more money by playing Christmas music and decorating for Christmas, nowadays even before Thanksgiving.  Many people think of Thanksgiving as a day that marks the "beginning of Christmas." 

Let's allow Christmas to be Christmas and Thanksgiving to be Thanksgiving.  Let's not forget the reason we are celebrating the peace and start of our beloved country.  When two worlds sat down to break bread together, amazing things began to happen.  The people of England and the Native Americans joined together to plant the seeds of the United States of America, to which I am grateful.  Thanks to our country's forefathers and Native Americans, I was blessed with the freedom to receive an education for a profession that I love, and the liberty to start a woman-owned, small business where I can apply my skills to help others.  It is about "thanks" and "giving" this year.