# Is Thanksgiving a bigger deal than Christmas in the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 25, 2009, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915 "2009-11-25T16:08:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/61 "2009-11-26T16:52:12Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > I agree with the previous poster who said that Thanksgiving is probably the more _universally_ and _uniformly_ celebrated holiday, and in that regard is second only perhaps to Independence day in the national calendar. There isn’t any dispute about “how” you celebrate Thanksgiving - of course you have a special dinner meal with family or friends. The only religious content is so uncontroversial and generic (“be thankful for what you have”) that it fits with almost any belief system. > > It is less of a “big deal” in the sense that it is not a gifting holiday and thus not very commercialized (there’s only just so many ways to sell turkey and pie). In general I agree with you, though I _do_ know a few who refuse to celebrate it because of its origins (white man coming in and taking advantage of the natives). Just saying that they’re out there, but yes, Thanksgiving is far more universally celebrated than just about any other holiday here. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/62 "2009-11-26T16:53:59Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > Not arguing with you, really, **Broomstick**. I guess you just feel more strongly than I do about it. I _do_ wish that when people mean Christmas and Christmas alone they would just _say_ it. Don’t slap “Holiday” on a display of Santa cards, ya know? Just say it. I don’t mind. I don’t think anybody is going to get Santa cards for any _other_ holiday. “Holidays” is fine; for me, that includes 'em all, though of course the Big Three being Thansgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. > > But that is another thread. > > Thanksgiving is appealingly adaptable to pretty much anybody’s belief system or lack thereof. I like that about it. Agreed with the cards. I don’t mind Happy Holidays on some generic winter scene, but when it’s on an obvious Christmas-themed card, it makes me :rolleyes:. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/63 "2009-11-26T17:31:19Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t think anybody is going to get Santa cards for any other holiday. Except for maybe St. Nicholas’ Day. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/64 "2009-11-26T17:50:05Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Culturally, Christmas is far bigger. But Thanksgiving is what Christmas would be without all the stress and commercialization, so in some ways for some people it’s a favorite holiday. It’s just about family & food, and there are few objections to either (of course there are exceptions). Right. For me Thanksgiving is a slightly bigger deal ( still not huge ), simply because I have no particular affection for the Christmas season. It’s really the only traditional holiday I kinda like. I typically do multiple meals ( I could, technically, have availed myself of four turkeys within one week - work Tuesday, friends today, one set of parents Friday, another Sunday ) and often out of town people are visiting and I’ll hang with them a bit. Christmas I just prefer to work for the extra cash - _sometimes_ I do a Christmas Eve family dinner. Of course I’m working this Friday as well, but again I’m getting paid a buttload of extra money to do so. But that’s purely down to my own preferences. Culturally Christmas is the uber-holiday in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/65 "2009-11-26T18:00:21Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > There’s room for more at our house. Can you make it to Seattle by tomorrow morning? Not without a transporter, but thanks for the thought. I started a pot roast about an hour ago, and plan to watch football and eventually the most recent episode of V. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2009, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/66 "2009-11-26T23:39:25Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Every field except retail. And restaurants, and hospitals, and lots of manufacturing facilities, and gas stations, and the astronauts on the space shuttle, and the troops, and grocery stores…yeah to say that EVERYBODY is off work is completely wrong. My Mom and sister both worked today. My Mom in a textile mill and my sister at a hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/67 "2009-11-27T01:25:56Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Only if you’re Christian. Which was sort of my point - if you aren’t Christian then Thanksgiving may well be the bigger holiday. > > Of course, the US being a supposedly “Christian nation” :rolleyes: even those who aren’t Christian get it forcibly rammed down our throats. The rest of us sometimes forget we’re not supposed to exist, how uppity of us. Really, that is the one thing that has _always_ annoyed me about Christmas, this blithe assumption that you MUST celebrate it even if you don’t believe in Jesus or the Judeo-Christian God. I am heartily sick of being forced to participate in gift exchanges, receive stacks of cards full of glurge about a deity I’ve never believed in, and listening to people whine that they can’t force ALL of us to listen Xmas Muzak 24/7 from October to December and they have to say "Happy _Holidays"_ because, omigosh, not everyone believes in baby Jesus. Sure, sure, freedom of religion… as long as you believe in the _majority_ relgion and just don’t talk about what YOUR family does. And if you do, you get shouted down. > > No, my family _does not and never has_ “gotten together for Christmas”. Christmas was a day off and maybe you go to the movies while all the Christians are in church or something. Yes, for many families it’s important but _not for all of us_. The fact your family doesn’t do Christmas makes you outside the norm. The question for the thread is “Is Thanksgiving a bigger deal than Christmas in the USA?” ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/68 "2009-11-27T10:04:39Z")
Yes, so let’s just ignore everyone outside the norm, right? Non-Christians have always existed in the US, and we’re becoming a larger part of the demographic these days. I’m sorry my deviance disturbs you, but I get tired of being told my demographic doesn’t exist, so sit down, shut up, and sing the damn carols like a Real American™ It rather on par with the statement up thread that “everyone gets Friday off” - let’s just totally ignore the retail workers on Black Friday, fire, police, medical people, restaurant folks… they aren’t the majority but they are still a significant slice of the whole. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/69 "2009-11-27T10:28:44Z")
I haven’t had a significant American holiday off since I started working; as a bartender, I have worked the vast majority of my Thanksgivings, Christmases, New Years Eves, and all the rest of them…I got Thanksgiving off this year because I “volunteered” (:rolleyes:) to work a 14 hour shift on Christmas day. I can only hope that people will try to be a bit more kind than usual, considering that I am working America’s biggest holiday. Not that people ever are. Merry fucking Christmas, everyone! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![FrWindyShephardHenderson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FrWindyShephardHenderson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrWindyShephardHenderson)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/70 "2009-11-27T10:38:27Z")
What I’ve always wondered is do the majority of American’s have turkey on Christmas Day as well, even if they have it on Thanksgiving too? That does seem like a hell of a lot of turkey and I like my turkey. Also on the football thing, isn’t there always an NFL game on Christmas Day? Its always the one match I miss due to my family not buying my whole “but its much better than soccer” argument. Man I can’t wait for my patented Chirstmas turkey, ham and spiced beef sandwiches. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/71 "2009-11-27T11:16:01Z")
Broomstick I don’t know why you’re always bitter. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/72 "2009-11-27T12:31:34Z")
I am bitter because so many people in this world insist that others conform to the majority regardless of the cost to those in the minority. I am bitter because so many _don’t even see_ people who aren’t like themselves, much less consider them fellow human beings. Really, you’re saying who I am, who and what I care about, and what I believe are so worthless that they can be safely ignored and my hurt feelings have no importance. You don’t see where that is even a little off-putting? ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/73 "2009-11-27T15:48:51Z")
Yeah, **Broomstick** , you have enough issues for a subscription. You’re bringing in a whoooooole lot of baggage into this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/74 "2009-11-27T15:57:36Z")
Like I said, I’m sorry my “issues” cause you grief, but frankly I’d be happy to see Christmas relegated to a minor holiday celebrated solely by Christians rather than being pressured to spend money I don’t have to celebrate the alleged birth of a god I don’t believe in. I realize I’m not suppose to discuss such an unfashionable opinion because it upsets the True Believers, but tough. Which is why I’m much more a fan of Thanksgiving - you can get ridiculous about it if you want to, but no one looks at your funny if you say you just want to make it a simple get-together with a good meal. A low-key Thanksgiving is perfectly acceptable - a low-key Christmas is not in our society. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/75 "2009-11-27T15:59:59Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > I am bitter because so many people in this world insist that others conform to the majority regardless of the cost to those in the minority. I am bitter because so many _don’t even see_ people who aren’t like themselves, much less consider them fellow human beings. Really, you’re saying who I am, who and what I care about, and what I believe are so worthless that they can be safely ignored and my hurt feelings have no importance. You don’t see where that is even a little off-putting? I think it’s a little strange for someone in an acknowledged minority to pout quite so heartily and expect the rest of the country to … what? Stop putting up Christmas decorations for the majority of people who appreciate them? Stop shopping for Christmas presents? Stop playing Christmas music? I get that you find it annoyign that the rest of us celerate a holiday that you don’t beleive, and I do apologize if you regularly have to deal with evangelicals who are blatantly intolerant of your beleif structure, because I know that can be frustrating. The majority of people on the dope, and I imagine in this thread, however, are not assholes of the highest order, who don’t understand how to be pleasantly, politely evangelical. Evangelism is part of the religion, too, and it gets its biggest bump around this time of the year… ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/76 "2009-11-27T16:15:57Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Like I said, I’m sorry my “issues” cause you grief, but frankly I’d be happy to see Christmas relegated to a minor holiday celebrated solely by Christians rather than being pressured to spend money I don’t have to celebrate the alleged birth of a god I don’t believe in. I realize I’m not suppose to discuss such an unfashionable opinion because it upsets the True Believers, but tough. > > Which is why I’m much more a fan of Thanksgiving - you can get ridiculous about it if you want to, but no one looks at your funny if you say you just want to make it a simple get-together with a good meal. A low-key Thanksgiving is perfectly acceptable - a low-key Christmas is not in our society. You’re cracking me up here. So I’m a True Believer because I think you’re way-overreacting? Just so you know, each reply you’ve made makes you sound more and more frothing mad. You aren’t really making a great case for yourself, here. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/77 "2009-11-27T17:08:05Z")
Broomstick, pressure is in your head. If you don’t want to celebrate Christmas, don’t. There are millions in America like you. If you don’t like commercials on TV, you’re in excellent company – no one does. But it’s not a plot to force Christianity on you. FrWindy etc…my family always had turkey on both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just far enough apart that it never seemed excessive. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/78 "2009-11-27T17:12:19Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yes, so let’s just ignore everyone outside the norm, right? Non-Christians have always existed in the US, and we’re becoming a larger part of the demographic these days. I’m sorry my deviance disturbs you, but I get tired of being told my demographic doesn’t exist, so sit down, shut up, and sing the damn carols like a Real American™ Oh please. You can rightly bitch and moan about the morons who loudly shout “Jesus is the reason for the season!”, but pretending that Christmas is some solemn religious observance is madness. It’s almost completely secular nowadays and any religious overtones the holiday may have once had are reserved completely for… wait for it… the religious. You can celebrate a perfectly “normal” Christmas and not encounter Jesus once unless you want to (for example, if you need to turn water into funk or to help repel a vampire attack on the local lesbian population). Not celebrating (or even acknowledging it) at all puts you in a hige minority, even among other atheists. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/79 "2009-11-27T18:11:13Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > I think it’s a little strange for someone in an acknowledged minority to pout quite so heartily and expect the rest of the country to … what? Stop putting up Christmas decorations for the majority of people who appreciate them? Stop shopping for Christmas presents? Stop playing Christmas music? I don’t have any objection to YOU doing the whole Christmas thing. I just hate it when it becomes mandatory. For example, back when I worked in corporate America there was _always_ a Christmas gift exchange. Over the past decade or so it was more and more frequently “disguised” as “holiday gift exchange” or “secret santa” but it was always with a nod and a wink and a lot of arm twisting to participate whether you wanted to or not. If you wanted to opt out of the mess you were being selfish and a scrooge. That what I mean - you have no recourse. (This sort of thing used to also piss off the Jehovah’s Witnesses who, I gather, don’t exchange gifts, either) Another time the holiday potluck was scheduled to overlap with Ramadan. The three Muslims in the office were chastised for not having “just a bite”, because, you know, they just weren’t showing the holiday spirit! Well, crap, it could have been schedule the following week, or after sunset which, after all, comes pretty early in Chicago in December. I don’t care if others celebrate, I do care if they use it as an excuse to thoughtlessly stomp all over other people. Thank goodness the last few years I was in a department where participation was not compulsory. The Christians had their Christmas gift exchange, which they could openly call that, and the rest of us could celebrate or not as we saw fit. > [@](#): > > The majority of people on the dope, and I imagine in this thread, however, are not assholes of the highest order, who don’t understand how to be pleasantly, politely evangelical. Evangelism is part of the religion, too, and it gets its biggest bump around this time of the year… Well, that’s one of the problems - MY faith forbids proselytizing and finds it offensive. There is no such thing as “polite evangelism” from my viewpoint. I grit my teeth and tolerate it as best I can because tolerance is a virtue and necessary to living in a civilized world, but at best I regard it about a cheerfully as an Orthodox Jew or a Muslim would regard being served a ham sandwich. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915/80 "2009-11-27T18:12:46Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Not celebrating (or even acknowledging it) at all puts you in a hige minority, even among other atheists. Just for the record - I’m not an atheist, not by a long shot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanksgiving-a-bigger-deal-than-christmas-in-the-usa/518915.md?page=5)