A PS to the Thanksgiving Post

In a Thanksgiving-themed post (A Thanksgiving Thought – Gratitude is Being Present on 11.21.12) I bemoaned the consumer-driven rush to collapse all fall holidays into one – Christmas decorations coming out before Halloween and retail stores opening on Thanksgiving evening for Christmas shopping are examples. And I questioned how present we are, as a culture, if we’re rushing through events such that we can’t even stop to enjoy one event at a time. So, in response to that … a Thanksgiving ‘contrarian’.

In a Thanksgiving story reported by NPR, despite the rush of their peers, Nordstrom stores remained closed on Thanksgiving, with a sign on their doors that said: We celebrate one holiday at a time, and are unveiling our holiday decorations the day after Thanksgiving in all our stores nationwide. Brooke White, vice president of communications for Nordstrom, who was interviewed for the story, added: “Customers appreciate that Nordstrom gives each holiday it’s “time”.”

Well to that I say, I do, too! And so I am hereby creating the Raven Award and Nordstrom is the first recipient for their courageous move to stay present. (The raven is the contrary animal in Jewish mythology – you see it as the first bird Noah sends out from the Ark, for example.) So, Nordstrom: Thank you for being this year’s Raven!

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(full article cited can be found on www.npr.org: On Thanksgiving, Stores Serve up a Side of Shopping.)