Are America's Thanksgiving Traditions Weird? Is Christmas One Giant Deadweight Loss? The Covid-19 Holiday Season Has Begun!

The Best Paragraph I've Read: "WASHINGTON, D.C., United States—On Wednesday morning, this normally bustling capital city became a ghost town as most of its residents embarked on the long journey to their home villages for an annual festival of family, food, and questionable historical facts. Experts say the day is vital for understanding American society and economists are increasingly taking note of its impact on the world economy. The annual holiday, known as Thanksgiving, celebrates a mythologized moment of peace between America’s early foreign settlers and its native groups—a day that by Americans’ own admission preceded a near genocide of those groups. Despite its murky origins, the holiday remains a rare institution celebrated almost universally in this ethnically diverse society." This paragraph comes from a 2013 Slate.com article titled: "If It Happened There... America's Annual Festival Pilgrimage Begins"  The article is written by Joshua Keating.   https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2013/11/if-it-happened-there-how-the-u-s-media-would-cover-thanksgiving-if-it-were-in-another-country.html Zac and Don talk about the Thanksgiving Holiday and all of its traditions.   Another Paragraph I've Read: "Well yes and no.  So first of all, I'm at least semi-serious about it and let me explain what I mean.  The question is, are we in the US getting $70 billion worth of satisfaction out of the items that we're choosing for others?  My answer is no." This paragraph comes from a PBS.org interview with economist Joel Waldfogel.  The interview centers around whether Christmas is an event with too much deadweight loss.  You can read the full interview here: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/the-economics-of-wasteful-spending-the-dead-weight-loss-of-christmas Zac and Don discuss the thinking about Christmas being one big deadweight loss.   Here is a link to Dr. Waldfogel's full economics article on the deadweight loss of Christmas: https://www.amherst.edu/media/view/104699/original/christmas.pdf