The annual Thanksgiving rant

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the season.

That's right. Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is the last untainted holiday. You can tell because they try to start Christmas before Thanksgiving, because there is absolutely no commercial value to Thanksgiving.

Because Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for what you already have, a frame of mind that makes sales blitzes very difficult.

Thanksgiving is about food, family, friends, a day off-- lots of things, but it's not about rampant materialism. It's not about candy, presents, fireworks, status, money, or showing off. Thanksgiving is the most modest holiday of the year. There are no required Thanksgiving colors, decorations, or rituals beyond "gather and give thanks."

Thanksgiving isn't fraught with competing religious overtones; though some like to use Thanksgiving to point discuss the massacre of Native Americans by the invading "illegal immigrants" from Europe -- Thanksgiving is probably the least controversial holiday ever. I've never met someone in real life who was opposed to the celebration of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving cannot be co-opted, cannot be corrupted, doesn't spark debate and makes everyone simply want to gather with whomever they can and enjoy a meal together.

In today's fast-paced, materialistic, greedy, and expensive world, Thanksgiving basically requires us to slow down. The traditional turkey takes at least four hours to make. You start with the Macy's Day Parade, maybe watch some football in the afternoon, then you sit down and eat and drink and talk with friends and family. Afterwards, fighting off turkey coma, you sit around and digest, making room for pie. In my family, this is usually board game time. We favor Scrabble.

When I was growing up I believed, like most teenagers, that my family was utterly dysfunctional. Now I'm always impressed by how cohesive we are when we come back together for the holidays (I say we, but I'm actually the only one who's moved out so far). We watch all the same TV shows and we all love talking about the show we're watching during commercials (a habit my fiance hates), and on Thanksgiving, we simply shine. My sister and I set the table after my little brother polishes the silver. My dad does the turkey, stuffing and gravy and pie; my mother handles all the side dishes: sweet potatoes, corn casserole, soup, and salad. The whole time we discuss politics, my little sister alternately contributing and complaining that she hates it when we talk politics. My sister and my mother will tell me about the latest knitting things they're doing now (they are deep in the online knitting blogosphere) and my little brother tries to sneak away to play video games, but we keep calling him back and making him participate in cooking and talking.

Of all the holidays, I cannot remember a single horrible Thanksgiving with my family. No huge blowups, no meal-ruining sullen silences. Just my family the way we are: loud, sarcastic, fiercely loyal, showing our affection through "constructive criticism."