Thanksgiving was once the holiday when, during that time of year, families went  through deep reflection and reflected on a deep appreciation for life.
Recently, Thanksgiving has become more about greed and a big meal. Although the food is more than a notable part of Thanksgiving, it has now become the main objective of the holiday — appreciation has become just simple tradition.
I remember during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, I would sometimes hear others and even myself complain about how not eating for twelve straight hours daily was just too much, never once stopping to realize that there are children, much younger than us,  who did this all the time, except without a choice.
Nowadays, the media tells you that the latest smart phone or an expensive pair of shoes is more valuable than having a roof over your head.
My little sister was once, when asked, was thankful for getting an iPod Touch. When she told the family, we thought it was cute, — and it was — but it showed how materialistic values could form at such a young age. When I thought about it later, I wondered how materialism could hit a thirteen-year-old so hard.
How come she couldn’t think of anything else to be thankful for? Didn’t “family” spring to mind? What about “freedom”? Wasn’t she aware of how lucky she was compared to others?
At such a young and malleable age, it was easy for my sister to think that a piece of technology was something she should be more thankful for over freedom of speech or religion. It wasn’t her fault. Turn on your TV, computer, etc. and all you see is the embodiment of materialism.
A couple of months later, my little sister’s iPod got stolen. She burst into tears while telling my mother and I the story.
There wasn’t much we could do, so we told her that an iPod was just glass and plastic. She still had her family and a place to call home. She stopped crying and said she felt better. After that, she never mentioned the iPod again. She had realized what she should have truly been grateful for.
The last day of Ramadan came, and the community was about to eat the last fast-breaking meal, I told God I was thankful that I was able to make it through the long month of fasting. But then, I thought about the Muslims from my country, Haiti, and how some of their meals were probably a fraction of mine and yet, they were probably thankful that they had any food at all. Before I broke my fast, I thanked God for bringing my family to America.
It’s about time we break the “let’s over-eat” cycle that Thanksgiving has sadly become. Let’s think about the bigger picture. The bigger picture that’s made up of the little things.
Happy holidays.