Take a moment and think about the meaning of Thanksgiving. To me, there is one big meaning that shapes the entire holiday. I’ll give you a hint: it’s in the name of the holiday.

Thanks. Gratitude. Appreciation. These are all the thematic elements of this important day in American History. Thanksgiving is a day to be grateful for everything we have and take for granted; family, friends, fortune, and, of course, a delectable meal.

On the complete contrary, what is the meaning of Black Friday? The nation-wide holiday that lands on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The first thing that comes to mind when I hear “Black Friday” is shopping. Spending money and getting new stuff. Whether it’s clothes or supplies or toys, it’s always things. Things that most people don’t need.

Black Friday has always been on the day after Thanksgiving. People like that the days are separated, so on one day they can focus on love and family, and the next they can focus on carrying hundreds of bags home from the mall. Oh, how the times are changing. Now, many big retailers such as Walmart, Macy’s, K-mart and more are opening on Thanksgiving day, as early as 6 AM.

I don’t know about you, but this bothers me. First of all, Thanksgiving is a day about gratitude. It’s about sitting around a table with your family and feeling happy and lucky. It defeats the purpose of the holiday to be buying new things on the day when you are supposed to be appreciating what you already have. The merge of shopping and appreciation of family is just wrong.

And you definitely can’t buy family in a mall, so whatever you’re going to be purchasing on Thanksgiving will distract from the true holiday. Having stores open their doors on Thanksgiving puts pressure on the whole country. As families are giving toasts and gobbling down their mashed potatoes, they are also going to be anxiously checking their watches to make sure they aren’t missing the sale at Target. And that is not what our country should be paying attention to on one of the most significant days in our history. Thanksgiving isn’t supposed to be stressful. And it’s definitely not supposed to be about scavenging for sales.

I get that it’s fun to go out and get the best sales of the year. Believe it or not, I love shopping, myself. Black Friday is a day made for people just like me. But, this Thanksgiving, save the shopping for Black Friday, and make sure you reserve Thanksgiving for, you know, Thanksgiving.  It would certainly make the pilgrims happier!