Is Thanksgiving Losing Its Meaning?

Photo of Thanksgiving in Camp, a wood engraving drawn by Winslow Homer and published in Harper’s Weekly, Nov. 29, 1862.
The colonists and Indians shared a harvest feast in autumn at Plymouth that is now acknowledged as one of the first celebrations of the Thanksgiving holiday. The emotional significance of the holiday is about coming together as a family and getting as full as one can, and hating themselves after for doing it; but has modern society taken away the meaning of the holiday? Many believe that with Black Friday the holiday is being turned into more of a materialistic holiday instead of it being a gathering of family and friends. Black Friday this lands the day after Thanksgiving, and everyone has seen the horrors that Black Friday brings with it on social media. People being trampled, some fighting [literally] for an item, others pushing children onto the ground to grab something, and of course the real horror…the lines. Going from eating a huge dinner with loved ones to punching someone in the face the next day for a toaster has people questioning the priorities of America on this holiday of friendship.