Thanksgiving has come and gone and I wonder if anyone really noticed?

Halloween generates a fair amount of buzz as does Christmas but sandwiched in between those two is a holiday that anymore seems to be just a pass-through day to the “real” holiday, Black Friday. Thanksgiving, the day before Black Friday, Black Friday Eve.

The most recent sales figures seem to emphasize this thought:

• Online spending was up 29% ($272 million) Thanksgiving Day and up 22% ($531 million) on Black Friday
• comScore expects Cyber Monday sales be even stronger than Black Friday’s and to exceed $700 million
• ShopperTrak RCT Corp., stated total sales rose 8.3% to about $10.3 billion on Friday

Headlines in the media are all about Black Friday:

• Midnight shopping lures Black Friday hordes CNN
• Stores Lure Shoppers Before Black Friday Forbes
• Black Friday carries retailers’ hopes for profitable holidays San Fransisco Chronicle

What happened to the experience of gathering together on Thanksgiving, eating turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie, watching football and giving thanks for what is truly meaningful?