Later this week, there will be no classes held at Sacramento State for two days. During those two days falls a holiday upon which people feast on turkey and cranberry sauce. The other day has become one of the most hectic shopping days of the year.

The holiday is Thanksgiving. The day afterward is known to many as “Black Friday,” the first true day of the Christmas shopping season.

Yet, what about the holiday that comes earlier in the month? The holiday that comes on Nov. 11 ?” Veteran’s Day.

People celebrate Thanksgiving with vigor, often spending an entire day just to prepare the sumptuous meal that will be served that night. Families gather to be together and give thanks for another year of life. Elementary school students remember the little story about Squanto and the pilgrims and the harsh winter that gave rise to this holiday. Shopping gurus prepare for the sales beginning at 5 a.m. the next day.

Where was all that vigor two weeks ago when Veteran’s Day was trying to recognize those who fought in this nation’s conflicts and survived to tell the tale? Where were the crowds of people watching the parade downtown as veterans marched down the road? They were probably at home, enjoying a day off from work.

This is not the purpose of Veteran’s Day. Nor is the purpose of Thanksgiving to herald the beginning of the rush to buy Christmas presents during the biggest sales of the year.So why do we celebrate a day devoted to eating with decorations and commercials, especially in this new age of increasing obesity? The answer is probably buried somewhere in the rise of commercialized holidays and the lack of wars that hit home for a couple of decades.

No matter where the answer lies, Thanksgiving is still a day to give thanks for family and friends while passing around the mashed potatoes. Veteran’s Day is still a day to honor those who fought and survived.

The day after Thanksgiving will still be a day of fighting the sea of humanity trying to find the ultimate sale. Veteran’s Day will still be a day off to many people. November will still be a month of lowering temperatures and the beginning of Christmas commercials.

Yet, in all the commercials, all the food, all the sales, and all the flags that are flown on Nov. 11, there is still the thought that often permeates students’ minds: “We get a day off.”

Is that all it means? No class for a day? Sac State doesn’t even get that day off for Veteran’s Day that most other people do. What does Thanksgiving mean to students, those who usually have to study for upcoming finals while trying to decimate their plate full of turkey and stuffing?

“Thanksgiving is a time where friends, family, and people as a whole come together to give thanks for what they are grateful for each year,” graphic design junior Edward Dessaso said.

“For some people, holidays are all you have,” Charleston Davis, a pre-nursing junior, said.

Finally, there is the question of what people think of the lack of major recognition for Veteran’s Day.

“I love Thanksgiving and lament the fact that Veteran’s Day is so gingerly hopped over,” computer science senior Christian Burns said.

So make sure you thank a veteran for their deeds while you’re out shopping for that last can of cranberry sauce, it’s the least they deserve for looking into the face of war and living to tell about it.