what the hell happened to thanksgiving...

[Shkeeptareh]

for the past two years in order to pay off enormous debts...(student loans) tuition, rent and the like, i have had to work at a certain restaurant that has an "old country store" theme to it...every year, I've had to work on thanksgiving... the first year i worked in the kitchen and marveled at how much food we sold and how many large parties we had....whole friggin families coming in to eat the food... last year i missed dinner with my family because i was given a ten hour hostess shift....and many other fun enjoyments....like the family football bets and the like.... as the seating hostess i had to find a way to fit a party of twenty into our first, and smallest dining room.... i was doing as much as i could to keep calm in the moment and mentioned that if there still wasn't enough room for everyone that there were two checkerboard tables that the kids could sit and play at.... at this one of the gentlemen, who had already given me plenty of hell as it is asked me if i felt it would be right for any of them to have to sit alone at thanksgiving...normally at work i am the calm, patient and rather easygoing type...it takes a lot to piss me off... but i completely exploded...

"YOU IGNORANT RED NECKED HICK! I WILL MISS THANKSGIVING WITH MY FAMILY BECAUSE I'M HERE SERVING THE LIKES OF YOU!! BECAUSE GOD FORBID ANYONE SHOULD THINK TO COOK ON THANKSGIVING BECAUSE ITS SUCH A NOVEL IDEA!" and proceeded to storm off into the ladies restroom, where i stayed for about an hour...(none of my managers came anywhere near me the rest of the night...)

so what i would like to know is what happened to being a family on the holidays and meeting at someones home and having a meal together and enjoying each other's company?

i know that thanksgiving itself has unique roots but still, what does everyone do and what do these people do after their restaurant meal is over? does everyone just go home? or do they meet somewhere else for cocktails what happens?

and what happened to family in the first place? has it just been so packaged and commercialized that it too doesn't really exist anymore?

[anna_hun]

sorry hun we dont celebrate thanksgiving over here and in the uk as such.
There is a service in church-were collected items and fruits and veggies put by the altar and then go for charity, but thats about as far as it goes by us for thanksgiving.
I reckon it must be like our holy eve.

[Tsalagi]

So things were not going well at the Cracker Barrel?
You could have gone out on the porch and wore out one of those rocking chairs!

We celebrate it as the National Day of Mourning.

T

[sybarite]

Originally Posted by Shkeeptareh

for the past two years in order to pay off enormous debts...(student loans) tuition, rent and the like, i have had to work at a certain restaurant that has an "old country store" theme to it...every year, I've had to work on thanksgiving... the first year i worked in the kitchen and marveled at how much food we sold and how many large parties we had....whole friggin families coming in to eat the food... last year i missed dinner with my family because i was given a ten hour hostess shift....and many other fun enjoyments....like the family football bets and the like.... as the seating hostess i had to find a way to fit a party of twenty into our first, and smallest dining room.... i was doing as much as i could to keep calm in the moment and mentioned that if there still wasn't enough room for everyone that there were two checkerboard tables that the kids could sit and play at.... at this one of the gentlemen, who had already given me plenty of hell as it is asked me if i felt it would be right for any of them to have to sit alone at thanksgiving...normally at work i am the calm, patient and rather easygoing type...it takes a lot to piss me off... but i completely exploded...

"YOU IGNORANT RED NECKED HICK! I WILL MISS THANKSGIVING WITH MY FAMILY BECAUSE I'M HERE SERVING THE LIKES OF YOU!! BECAUSE GOD FORBID ANYONE SHOULD THINK TO COOK ON THANKSGIVING BECAUSE ITS SUCH A NOVEL IDEA!" and proceeded to storm off into the ladies restroom, where i stayed for about an hour...(none of my managers came anywhere near me the rest of the night...)

so what i would like to know is what happened to being a family on the holidays and meeting at someones home and having a meal together and enjoying each other's company?

i know that thanksgiving itself has unique roots but still, what does everyone do and what do these people do after their restaurant meal is over? does everyone just go home? or do they meet somewhere else for cocktails what happens?

and what happened to family in the first place? has it just been so packaged and commercialized that it too doesn't really exist anymore?

Corporate greed, and public apathy have taken over many of the traditions. Busting the unions took away the workers rights for many benefits, including holidays off. Dh and I refuse to walk into a working establishment on a holiday. Supply and demand. If people would put a little preparation into a nice home holiday, there would be no need for stores and restaurants to be open and everyone would be able to spend them with their families.

[squirt]

to me, the best part of the holiday, both Thanksgiving and Christmas, is the time spent together as the meal is prepared as well as while it's being eaten and cleaned up after, we've always done this as a family function, with all members contributing in some fashion, this baton has now been passed to my daughter, and she's done an outstanding job of it! the holiday still finds the adults in the kitchen making preparations and all the kids running in and out grabbing nibbles where they can lol I won't even go to the grocery store on Thanksgiving or Christmas, those people who are required to work those days deserve to be home with their families too!

[kiki5711]

Originally Posted by Tsalagi

So things were not going well at the Cracker Barrel?
You could have gone out on the porch and wore out one of those rocking chairs!

We celebrate it as the National Day of Mourning.

T

LOL

I was thinking the same, was it Cracker Barrel? I love those old lady rocking chairs in the front of the store. What I like even more is all the neat stuff they sell that are suppose to be all "American" apple pies candles, farm items, old fashoined toys, (unfortunatelly all made in China though).

As far as Thanksgiving. It's just another annoying holiday. Well, actually I do enjoy Christmas but only cause it is a pretty holiday nothing religious about it from me anyway.

[anna_hun]

We have 3 days off on christmas in germany.
Im not a fan of those commercialised holidays.
I dont have got a big family either and
this year it will be without hubby again.
So its just me and 2 kids.
There is no way we would manage a big turkey just the 3 of us-lol
Last time when he was away over xmas-
we too went out for a meal with my mates and there son.
We had a festive meal in a relaxed and festive atmosphere without the preparing and washing up .lol-
Remember at the end of the day-its those customers -who pay your wages.
Next time you feel unhappy at work on those holidays, think of the soldiers in Iraq who cant spent christmas with there family at all this year,
doctors and nurses,the police force, bus and taxi drivers and the list is endless.

[Nabubba]

The family unit has gone by the way side due to one factor such as divorce. Most people have to go back to work the day after Thanksgiving and the day after Christmas corporate greed and all but some services are needed. Most companies ask for volunteers on holidays and most will pay time and 1/2 also those days. The company I work for shuts down 2 days a year Thanksgiving and Christmas but some guys have to work Christmas Eve to load but then get Christmas day and night off. Noone really wants to cook and a lot don't even know how to cook. This goes back to the way our world works now every convenience right at our finger tips.