Smudged between the eerie, candy-filled Halloween and the joyous, present-eccentric Christmas, is the neglected and overlooked holiday of Thanksgiving.
Yes, we all think turkey, pilgrims, and dealing with crazy family members at the mention of "Thanksgiving"; but, just as soon as the holiday is brought up, it is thrown out. More often than not it seems that as soon as October 31st ends and November 1st begins, it is a swift transition from ghosts and jack-o-lanterns to Christmas carols being sung and trees being put up. There is no fawning over the cornucopia, the plentiful and giving holiday of Thanksgiving. There is no justice for Thanksgiving.
Where are the songs for Thanksgiving? Yes, of course, songs for the glorious holiday exist, but not to the extent and popularity of Halloween and Christmas songs. Go ahead, right now name at least 5 Halloween songs and 5 Christmas songs.
Easy, right?
Now, go ahead and name one Thanksgiving song, not 5 but just one. Not so easy, right? To bring awareness about this heavily prevalent issue plaguing American society today, I will gladly rattle off some Thanksgiving songs that celebrate the true meaning of the fourth Thursday in November each year. For all those country fans out there, there is the often forgotten classic "Thanksgiving Prayer" by none other than Johnny Cash, the man in black, himself.
A classic acoustic tune that embodies the true feeling of warmth and love that is felt on Thanksgiving. For the avid, modern-day audio mixer there is "Thanksgiving Overture" a fun spoof to the tune of the "William Tell Overture". And of course, for all the comedy fans out there, there is Adam Sandler's classic "Thanksgiving Song" as performed during his Saturday Night Live hay-days. If Sandler's voice just doesn't do it for you, there is always the short but great, Thanksgiving Song that Linda sings on Bob's Burgers.
Another question to be raised is: Where are the movies for Thanksgiving? Not only are there an abundance of movies for Halloween and Christmas, there is also a movie about both holidays at once. Shout out to "The Nightmare Before Christmas", confusing viewers on which season to watch it during since 1993.
During those last three months of the year, it always seems we go straight from the horror films of October to the merry, jovial films chronicling wacky Christmas mishaps and adventures. Of course, there is "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving," but then again there's a Charlie Brown movie for every holiday. It's time we stop and catalog what films we can claim for the holiday of thanks.
The great, late 80's John Hughes film "Planes, Trains, & Automobiles." Starring both Steve Martin and John Candy, this film portrays Steve Martin as Neal Page, just a guy trying to get home to Chicago for Thanksgiving. Due to a bunch of mishaps and weather re-routes, he ends up having to try to get home with Del Griffith, played by the late John Candy.
This movie is a light-hearted comedy that strikes all the right places, but it still leaves the question: where are more big, blockbuster movies revolving around Thanksgiving? It is once again the overshadowed holiday, in not only people's mind but in Hollywood's mind as well.
This holiday season, I say it is imperative that we all take more time to appreciate the fourth Thursday of each November. It is time we stop jumping straight from candy wrappers to opening eggnog bottles and appreciate the glorious holiday that is Thanksgiving. It is time we give Thanksgiving the meaning it deserves. It is time we give justice to the cornucopia.
