Everyone loves Christmas morning.  Kids have butterflies fluttering in their stomachs as they tried to sleep the night before.  And at four in the morning they sneak downstairs and unwrap their gifts. This is the moment they’ve been waiting for all year!

But so many other holidays deserve more recognition.  Easter, Independence Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween and more. However, none of those trumps the best of them all:  Thanksgiving.

A survey done by CBS Detroit found that followed by Christmas, Thanksgiving is America’s favorite holiday.  Thanksgiving, however, is a holiday for all Americans, not just those who are part of a religion. When it comes to evaluating holidays, one must take into account the three ‘F’s: family (and friends), festivities, and of course, food.  Thanksgiving has all of it!

Family

When it comes to Thanksgiving the first thing that comes to mind is family.  For me, Thanksgiving is a family gathering, meant for spending time with loved ones.  Thanksgiving is a great way to catch up with family you haven’t seen for a while or spend more time enjoying an activity together.  Crowding around a TV watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade finish and the National Dog Show begin, while on paper may not seem the most entertaining, brings a family closer together.  On Thanksgiving Day, the atmosphere is filled with helping hands and smiling faces. The mood of the day is always cheerful.

Festivities

This brings me to my next point, festivities and traditions.  Festivities are great, until they become gimmicky. Christmas and Halloween are festive times that companies try to profit off by selling blow-ups and other unnecessary props.  Thanksgiving brings the right amount of festivity.  The parade is always a favorite and talking point for people both young and old.  The end of the parade kicks in the spirit of the new season. There is also the Thanksgiving day football games for NFL fans, which bring an additional special vibe for sport lovers.  One last thing is the traditional and festive dinner, that brings families together for one night to enjoy.  The festivities of the day lies just between underdone and over abused – which makes it perfect.

Food

The final point that makes Thanksgiving the best is the food on the table.  Centered around a turkey, the plethora of dishes typically consists of potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, bread, along with others.  Then, pumpkin pie or another pie is served after everyone is stuffed.  Besides being a delicious and filling dinner, it brings family closer once again and the food holds more meaning than just food.  To most, they recognize this dinner as paying homage to the dinner held between the Natives and the Europeans. This holiday is tradition like no other.

Next time someone asks you what your favorite holiday is, I would like you to hesitate.  If you would say something other than Thanksgiving, think about why you think that. Is it Christmas because you receive gifts, or Halloween because you get candy.  And, if you think it’s Christmas because it’s the holiday of giving, then think about Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is like giving on Christmas, but without physical objects and instead with happiness and thankfulness.

Just ask yourself the three ‘F’s and find that Thanksgiving is truly the best holiday.