Goodbye, Thanksgiving — Kmart Is Opening Before The Turkey Goes In The Oven

Well, it has finally happened. For years people have speculated that Thanksgiving would soon?be?Black Friday and for Kmart, that’s exactly what has happened. The 115-year-old company will open its doors for the Black Friday rush at 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning. Worse yet, employees have been threatened with immediate termination if they don’t work the family (and federal government) holiday.

For years my mother and grandmother would wake up early on Thanksgiving to prepare our prized bird, pumpkin pies and my grandma’s fresh apple cake. Kmart is planning that this year mothers will forgo the early morning meal prep and come to the store to buy cheap imported plastic crap.

I fear they may be right, but I hope they aren’t.

If this retailer is correct, this will be a catalyst. Other stores will surely follow in their footsteps on the greed-strewn path to hell. Next year, the Walmarts and Kmarts of the world will compete for that 5 a.m. Thanksgiving Day rush.

Where will it end?

Thanksgiving is the epitome of all American holidays, perhaps even all holidays worldwide. It’s a day to celebrate our thankfulness for our family, friends, and all the abundances in which we share. It’s a day to pause and truly be thankful for all we have. It really isn’t about acquiring more stuff through sales and Christmas shopping. It saddens me to think of what this holiday will be 20 years from now. Will there be a family dinner? Will it be a day of togetherness and thankfulness? Or, will it just be the mark of the first shopping day of the Christmas season?

Save Thanksgiving. Don’t shop on that day. Send the retailers a message that they can have their day, the next day, but not?our?Thanksgiving.

According to?Forbes, here’s a list of stores who will not be open on Thanksgiving:

• American Girl
• Barnes & Noble
• Bed, Bath and Beyond
• BJ’s Wholesale Club
• Burlington Coat Factory
• donotpaginate
• Costco
• Crate & Barrel
• Dillard?s
• DSW
• GameStop
• Hobby Lobby
• HomeGoods
• Home Depot
• Jo Ann Fabrics
• Lowe?s
• Marshalls
• Nordstrom
• Petco
• Pier 1
• Publix
• RadioShack
• Sam’s Club
• Sur La Table
• Talbots
• T.J. Maxx

The true test will be if Kmart shoppers go wild for 6 a.m. ?blue light specials,? and if they do, the fate of our future Turkey Days is certainly threatened.

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Elizabeth Preston is a thirty-something wife and mother of three living in Florida. She is a fierce liberal with a passion?for equality and justice. She is a skeptic by nature and often the Facebook friend that rains on the urban legend parade with fact checking. Give her?Facebook page?a?like, follow her on?Twitter?and check out her personal blog, My Four Ha? Pennies.