By Claire Gearhart

Everyone loves the welcoming feelings that celebrations bring to the household. Spending time together, going on vacations, time off from work or school are all things enjoy about holidays. Any festivity no doubt brings favorable feelings to everyone. Almost anyone favors a specific holiday, and there are many factors that play on why; whether it be the financial aspect, the gifts you receive, the reason behind the holiday, or even the amount of days off you get. Regardless, Thanksgiving is by far a better holiday than Christmas.

Although the Christmas time off is more lengthy, it is considered a time of observance for Christian beliefs. Thanksgiving is most literally a few days off from everyday tasks for a feast. The history behind Thanksgiving is for the blessing of the harvest in the preceding year. The entire holiday revolves around food, which is the best thing mankind knows. True, Christmas has a nice dinner involved, but there is a lot more thought that has to go into it. Christmas is not only physically draining but also spiritually and mentally draining.

Thanksgiving is also considerably less costly than Christmas. On average, Christmas for a family of four can cost around $1,779, but Thanksgiving for a family of four can cost around $70. Not only that but putting together Thanksgiving takes less time and is less of a hassle. People will spend hours in long lines for overpriced toys and gifts that will already be forgotten by New Years, but on Thanksgiving, there is not as much hassle, and it provides better time for getting together as a family in a low-key environment where there’s no pressure to please everybody.

Fall is a magical time of year where all the colors change from green to various shades of red, yellow, orange, and brown. Winter time, although it may look more peaceful, isn’t very colorful and can lead to more ice than snow.

Thanksgiving is also the perfect time for late night walks, fires, and any kind of physical activity. It’s cold enough that people aren’t dying in the heat but not so cold that it isn’t fun to be outside anymore. During Christmas, it’s simply too cold to go out and be active without needing to apply layers upon layers of heavy clothing or ditch the outside all together for a gym.

Finally, Thanksgiving food is simply better than Christmas food. People across the country wait for the time of year where things like pumpkin spice lattes and pies come into season. When the whole holiday is based around feasting, more time is put into making sure it’s a better feast than any other time. Whereas during Christmas season the food, although still fun, is not the main focus of the holiday and can often be more of an afterthought than anything.

Thanksgiving is a time of reflection and a time to relax for some close family time without the pressures that a normal day would bring. Although it may not be everyone’s favorite time of the year, it certainly is the best holiday.