Essay Sample: Thanksgiving vs. Christmas

Over the centuries, the discussion of Thanksgiving and Christmas has sparked many debates. In my opinion, Thanksgiving has certain  advantages that overpower Christmas. In this essay, I will explain certain advantages and traits that will show how Thanksgiving is better than Christmas. Thanksgiving is better than Christmas because it is less stressful on the customers/consumers and less commercialized. 

The first reason that Thanksgiving is better than Christmas is because it is less stressful.  According to the article, “ In The Pros And Cons of Christmas Time”, “As a college kid, I typically already have a fear of looking at my bank account. So, after shopping for the whole fam and squad for Christmas, my bank account suffers even more” (Guillen).This shows that many people will suffer financial strain due to the stereotype of giving presents to people, which makes people put financial strain on themselves.. The other stressful part of Christmas is the email scams. Email scams are very prominent during the Christmas season. According to “The 12 Cons of Christmas”, “The quantity of malicious emails  in people's inboxes is expected to rise this year, according to Unisys”( Goodchild). As concluded from the evidence above, Christmas is much more stressful, which makes Thanksgiving seem like a more relaxing time.  

The second reason why Thanksgiving is better than Christmas is that it is less commercialized.  According to the article “When Did Christmas Become So Commercial?”, “Buying and selling and spending have always been part of Christmas, and so has lamenting about the loss of the glorious days when it wasn't”( Hudson). This means that Christmas these days revolves around giving people gifts, since it is very much ingrained into the present christmas culture. Because people buy gifts for others, companies will benefit a lot from it, making it more of a money-making time than a time to embrace family and friends. This evidence shows that since Thanksgiving is less commercialized, it is better in terms of appreciating and embracing family and friends. 

However, some argue that Christmas is also the time of getting gifts and items, and people may feel joyous because of certain items given to them.  But, this is not necessarily good. Many people focus so much on giving gifts that they do not focus on the actual meaningful aspect. According to “10 reasons Thanksgiving is better than Christmas”, Instead of asking people what they want or got for Christmas, you get to ask what people are thankful for. And that, by itself, is a reason to be thankful. And love it”( Jones). This shows that Thanksgiving is a day where you get to thank people, instead of rushing to get gifts. For that reason, Thanksgiving is better than Christmas. 

Thanksgiving is a holiday that displays characteristics that Christmas time does not show. It makes people feel less stressed because there is no constant pressure to give people gifts. Buying less or none gifts also puts less financial strain on some individuals. Therefore,  Thanksgiving is better than Christmas because it is less commercialized leading to decrease in stress in the people  of North America. This way, you can enjoy Thanksgiving with less stress and embrace your friends and family!