“Over the river and through the woods” are only a few of the words in one of the more traditional songs of the Thanksgiving season that don’t tell the full story. Even though schoolchildren throughout the years learned it long before the approaching holiday in the late fall, it didn’t take the place of the Halloween preparations. Now it goes by so quickly with all the commercial efforts to bring on the King-Kong of American holiday celebrations: Christmas. Keeping favorite celebrations safe from the inevitable overlap with the more commercial celebrations continues to be tough these days. Time was that everyone waited before setting up their outdoor displays.
While so many people still make attempts to go home by train, plane and automobile, quite a few sales reports indicate that the Christmas holiday remains important.
How many folks do you know who buy presents for Thanksgiving unless they use the cost of their transportation to get together with family as their Christmas present? The old-fashioned songs written to honor the annual gatherings of family and friends for one day are still sung.
We may not go over the river and through the woods to go to grandmother’s house, we gather in front of our computer screens. It is sometimes the only solution to see each other face to face. Whatever works to keep the connections close doesn’t take anything away from a celebration. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
By Dolly Viscardi
