AHC: Make Thanksgiving have the same cultural significance as Christmas

By 2017, what needs to happen in order to have Thanksgiving have the same cultural significance as Christmas in the United States? I'm talking about Thanksgiving-themed movies, people dressing up like Thanksgiving-related characters, people decorating their houses with....corn and light-up turkeys, Thanksgiving songs possibly derived from older harvest songs playing on the radio, etc.

Maybe the Federal Government tries to push Thanksgiving more as a way to counteract the political instability and fracturing of the 60s and 70s? Maybe the big department stores try to push it as a way to sell more stuff? How can it be done?
 
Well, it would be pretty hard to get the increased cultural significance to translate into economic significance, since people aren't likely to go on two equally major spending sprees within a month of one another. And I don't foresee too many people willing to reduce their Christmas spending in order to spend more on Thanksgiving, given that the latter would be fighting an uphill battle for glory, especially if it's viewed as being foisted on the public by the government.

So, even if it were offically announced that Thanksgiving was now a big big deal, that won't likely translate into anything meaningful unless there is an increased economic bump.
 
Well, it would be pretty hard to get the increased cultural significance to translate into economic significance, since people aren't likely to go on two equally major spending sprees within a month of one another. And I don't foresee too many people willing to reduce their Christmas spending in order to spend more on Thanksgiving, given that the latter would be fighting an uphill battle for glory, especially if it's viewed as being foisted on the public by the government.

So, even if it were offically announced that Thanksgiving was now a big big deal, that won't likely translate into anything meaningful unless there is an increased economic bump.

Well, unofficial government sponsorship is merely one possible route to Thanksgiving becoming more prominent, I was just throwing out ideas.
 
^^

That said, speaking as someone who LOVES the Christmas season but doesn't much care for Christmas Day, I've always thought it would be a good idea to encourage the gift-giving and visiting throughtout the entire season, which in an American context might fit in with making Thanksgiving a bigger deal(the ads could say a few days before Thanksgiving: "Start your holiday gift-giving now!")

But even then, you'd probably still see most people spreading out their previous late-December spending over a period of one month, rather than have two big spending orgies bookending the season.
 
Well, unofficial government sponsorship is merely one possible route to Thanksgiving becoming more prominent, I was just throwing out ideas.

Yes, I think the corporate-influence route is the more plausible one here. I'm sure they'd LOVE to have the spending spree start in late November, but only if it didn't reduce the late December sales. Which, as I've argued, might be a little difficult.
 
Another route might be the religious one. Churches could encourage wider and deeper observance of Thanksgiving, on the assumption that Xmas has been so bastardized by commercialization and office-party debauchery, that the spiritual aspects of it should be transferred to another, less tainted holiday.

But for this to work, Thanksgiving would have to remain unsullied by commercialization and debauchery, while still managing to be the major national holiday. So it might be a bit of a Catch-22.
 
Another route might be the religious one. Churches could encourage wider and deeper observance of Thanksgiving, on the assumption that Xmas has been so bastardized by commercialization and office-party debauchery, that the spiritual aspects of it should be transferred to another, less tainted holiday.

But for this to work, Thanksgiving would have to remain unsullied by commercialization and debauchery, while still managing to be the major national holiday. So it might be a bit of a Catch-22.

If we go the church route, could the Third or Fourth Great Awakenings play a role in pushing Thanksgiving as a time to give thanks to God? And then later political parties could pick it up; the GOP could get it from the evangelical base and the Democrats could become a part of the Thanksgiving push by tying it back to the working class' contributions to America?
 
but what about our avian friends? poor bastards get the noose either way.. :( just so us bi-peds get some random day to say thanks and bicker about how we went from 1492 and all the crap in between and how all those people sucked and the only good people are the people born in the last 20 years.

but in the mean time we practice imperialistic condemned servitude on another species and partake in the NFL! oyi!

We have lots to give thanks for. thanks that we haven't blown ourselves up. thanks that somehow (as americans or western ) we are spoiled beyond compare with gadgets and food in excess.. however if one picks the rug up and takes a look underneath some self cleaning might be on order while one partakes in the orgy of the ritual turkey and family feudalism.

just saying...

I would be happy with Christmas getting a little less commercial .. bring back for even adults ( and of course it needs to start with them ) for some humility and some of that childhood mystique that makes it so grand.

Best bet for turkey day and it is a big day in the USA, but push of the commercial interests who have over run it with black Friday and pre black Friday sales. hell when I was a kid nothing was open on turkey day. except the gas station and liquor store.
 
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By 2017, what needs to happen in order to have Thanksgiving have the same cultural significance as Christmas in the United States? I'm talking about Thanksgiving-themed movies, people dressing up like Thanksgiving-related characters, people decorating their houses with....corn and light-up turkeys, Thanksgiving songs possibly derived from older harvest songs playing on the radio, etc.

Maybe the Federal Government tries to push Thanksgiving more as a way to counteract the political instability and fracturing of the 60s and 70s? Maybe the big department stores try to push it as a way to sell more stuff? How can it be done?

In terms of people dressed up in costumes, I went to a 5K fun run this morning and a lot of people were dressed up like turkeys.

And Thanksgiving is one of four holidays to get its own Peanuts special (Halloween, Christmas, and Easter being the others).
 
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