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Categories: Articles, Hazel Rosetta Smith,
A picturesque table with platters of succulent specialties, surrounding a golden seasoned turkey, might have been the hearty spread that surfaced in your house on Thanksgiving, just a day ago.
However, in many more households in recent years, the turkey has been replaced by a chicken and canned goods from a community pantry. Still, memories of the fancy fixings remain ever dear.
Our city is filled with newcomers and immigrants who are treading water in what feels like sinking sand every day. Thanksgiving Day is not a holiday or any form of celebration in places they have managed to escape, so understanding our fixation on the turkey makes no sense.
The rush is on to get into the swing of holiday things. Before the fixings of the turkey dinner were consumed, the next holiday was already laid out. Notice was hereby given when Macy’s parade ushered in Santa Claus on his sleigh. It is Christmas in the city.
Department store shelves are systematically shelved with the latest and the most inviting gifts. Black Friday shopping will begin the charge card chaos across the nation for those early seekers of devices they could hardly afford but must provide to friends and family, because that is what is expected.
And far too many people will be fighting the battle of another Christmas in the same somber situation as the last. Medical professionals agree the holiday season can be catastrophic for good mental health. With all the trauma that surfaced in the throes of the pandemic, which is still lurking around, it can be a hard fight to make it through, wearing a mask of contentment when the truth is that things are not as they appear.
Spiritual thoughts remind us that being thankful is an everyday experience. Rational thinking says we should focus on being thankful for what we have, not to dwell on what we do not. This is the season to be thankful and joyful, though we have memories that are not easy to put to rest.
When being alone and feeling lonely join forces in the heads of the disenfranchised, the displaced, those in fractured relationships, and those mourning the loss of loved ones, it is too easy to fall into a deep depression and those thoughts become magnified in such a time as this.
Can joy be found in the conundrum of a holiday based on the cash in your pocket or the available credit cards in the sleeve of your wallet? We must strive to reach out to others to keep hope alive through love and respect. Commit to a visit to a nursing home or call someone who lives alone. Put some jolly in the holly.
[Hazel Rosetta Smith is a journalist, playwright, and artistic director for Help Somebody Theatrical Ministries and HRS Speaks! Former Woman’s Editor and Managing Editor of The New York Beacon News. Contact: misshazel@twc.com and www.hazelrosettasmith.com]
