My Favorite Holiday

Thanksgiving.  That's it.  My favorite holiday.

Why?

Family together.

Long break from school.

Harvest is over.

Great food - traditional menu (except for goulash!)

Family.  Family. Family.

No gifts so no expectations.

Advent of the Christmas season.

There is something about all of these that are special to me.

Tripoley!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles



So many memories from Thanksgivings past that always surface this time of year.

Thanksgiving at Grandma Greta's farm.  Even though the family lived within five miles of each other, the gathering at the farm was always special.

Walking into the kitchen and smelling everything!  Nothing can match that.  

Knowing that we could just relax and have fun.  Dad didn't have to work ever. Grandpa was there because he never drove the truck on Thanskgiving. Dad and Uncle Dean and Grandpa would watch football games.  

Greta, Sherry, and I would play, plot, and plan at our own table.  Over the years boyfriends were added in to our little group, moreso by Sherry than by Greta and me since no boyfriends were coming from Indiana to Ohio until the serious relationships happened.

Then the day after.  This was before Black Friday.  Greta and I would ALWAYS go to Southern Park Mall in Youngstown for shopping. One of the highlights for me was finding a cool place for lunch. I guess we didn't eat out that much in those days so a lunch out was very special...and Greta and I were very close at that time so it was a chance to catch up and have fun together.

The advent of the Christmas season.  Today decorations and music creep into the atmosphere soon after Halloween with Thanksgiving virutally forgotten in the consumer world.  However after the Thanksgiving holiday all stops are removed.  "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas"  "Carol of the Bells"  "Silent Night"  "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and many more.  Outdoor lights.  Christmas trees.  Candles in the windows.  Wreaths on the door.  The nativity.  The lights in Pulaski.  I love all of it.  

Plus so much Christmas cheer happens between the holidays.  Better moods. Friendlier encounters when shopping (for the most part). The season of joy!

And there is the anticipation of the birth of the Baby Jesus, which is the reason we celebrate the Christmas holiday in the first place, which is most exciting part!

Yes...this is my favorite holiday.  Thanksgiving.  And it is tomorrow!   Yeah!