I like Thanksgiving. It’s a simple, uncomplicated (a bigger word for “simple”), non-commercial holiday that somehow has managed to avoid the crass cash come-on that Christmas has become. In fact, the contrast between the two holidays has grown ever-sharper as the years have passed. It’s not what one would expect, cynically speaking.

How is it that the corporatist clique that somehow managed to shift the retail universe onto a new axis centered on December 25th avoided co-opting Thanksgiving – which occurs a mere 4 weeks before – into their multimedia marketing machine?

One way to illustrate the odd self-blinkering of the retailing industry as regards Thanksgiving is to look at the ongoing metamorphosis of store shelves in department stores, drug marts, even dollar stores. Start with the Back To School build-up in late August. Once school starts the day after Labor Day and a week or so has gone by (enough time for the kiddies to stock up on supplies), out go the pencils & rulers; in come the bulk bags of candy & chocolate.

Four to six weeks ’til Halloween and plenty of time to clear the shelves of goodies for the young trick-or-treaters. Then, on November 1st, what to our wondering eyes should appear are… no, not Thanksgiving goods (whatever those might be) but Christmas gifts, decorations and other assorted knick-knacks resplendent in red white & green. That’s right, poor old Thanksgiving gets the ol’ brusheroo, ignored and neglected in favor of its bolder, colder, ho-ho-holier than thou cousin.

The willful overlooking of Thanksgiving doesn’t stop in the stores, either. Up in the airwaves, Christmas is king. Holiday music virtually takes over the radio airwaves each year and not just any holiday, ONLY one holiday. Turning off your radio won’t save you. Malls and supermarkets play Christmas carols for weeks on end, something I’ve never been able to understand.

They DO want to keep customers in the stores, don’t they? Christmas music, especially bad Christmas music (of which there is an over-abundance) is an aural hazard that does a lot to raise stress levels already pushed into the red by too many long lines, too few parking spaces and, as always, not enough money. Not enough Thanksgiving music, you say? No, there’s exactly enough: none.

So thank you, Thanksgiving, for studiously staying under the radar and remaining mainly true to its origins: a movable feast featuring family, food and football. OK, the football is a somewhat recent addition but hey – us guys need an occasional break from the family and food.

This guest post is from Steve Levenstein, an established blogger whose writings have ruled the hearts of internet audience.