Thanksgiving!!!!!!!!

That's right, Turkey Day is just about here. Don't even think about dieting until January 2nd, because if you thought all that Halloween candy was bad, wait till Mom serves up her sweet potato pie, with colored mini marshamallows just like when you were three; dark turkey meat from your annoying cousin's plate which you oh-so-kindly replaced with your dry, white meat; Grandma's cranberry sauce; more apple and pumpkin pie than any pilgrim ever dreamed, and lest we forget all the fast food you'll devour as you begin your holiday shopping the day after Thanksgiving?

We all know the Thanksgiving story; we know it is a day to give thanks (whether we were on the Mayflower not, there is always something in our lives for which to be thankful); and many of us do not know that the idea for the holiday actually came from the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (or tabernacles). Alas, like all our other holidays, Thanksgiving has become a day of climax which Hallmark, Charlie Brown, and your child's first grade teacher all want to help you reach. We have the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and football games and stupid websites like this one to thank for stripping Thanksgiving of its true meaning for millions of people.

So how can we help this day preserve its meaning, even as we hang up our cartoon Indians and pilgrims and hide sharp pointy things in the leaf piles in which our annoying little relatives are jumping?

Know the things/people for which you are thankful. Saying it around the table before the salad is oh-so cliched. And for crying out loud, do not, for any reason, don a pilgrim hat.