Among the many reasons to love the fall season, the holidays that occur during this season that allow you to spend time with friends and family are probably the greatest things to look forward to. One of the most delicious and rewarding holidays coming up is of course, Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving began in 1621 when a community of Pilgrims and Indians got together to celebrate a harvest festival. This holiday was later acknowledged as a holiday for giving thanks and being a teacher for children to understand the history of American freedom. Thanksgiving is now defined as “the expression of gratitude” or in other words "giving thanks."
Now let's backtrack to the 1960s when the term “Black Friday” arose, referring to stores moving from the “red” to the “black” back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss and black a profit. In other words, Black Friday is the beginning of our shopping holiday season. Don’t get me wrong, I am a sucker for Black Friday; sales, early shopping, coupons, and even exclusive online shopping is hard for anyone to dismiss.
Black Friday used to begin the day after Thanksgiving, early that Friday morning. Families and friends would rest after their big turkey-filled dinner, and grab their checkbooks to start off for a fun-filled day of shopping major sales. What’s a more perfect time to get all of your holiday shopping done than on a day where you can save an enormous amount of money?
In recent years, we have begun the horrendous trend of kicking off Black Friday on Thanksgiving. Let me repeat myself, on Thanksgiving. Macy’s, Belk and Sears begin their Black Friday sale on Thursday at 6 p.m last year. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought that was the time of Thanksgiving dinner, spending time with family and friends, and giving thanks to one another. How did we start a tradition of a nation where Thanksgiving is being overshadowed and overrun by Black Friday? How did sales, coupons, and holiday shopping become more important than spending time with friends and family? I personally think its absolutely ridiculous to have sales associates called in to work Thanksgiving Day in order to satisfy the shopping addictions of the people who care more about their shopping and “getting a good deal” than precious time spent with friends and families. Life is precious, and it should be spent and cherished with your loved ones as much as possible.
If more people thought back to the days before Black Friday shopping and sales, and remembered the true reason behind such an important and now seemingly forgotten holiday, there may be a little bit of hope in our society. Now I myself am indeed a shopaholic, but I will not choose a sale over giving thanks and spending time with my friends and family this Thanksgiving. I challenge everyone to spend the time of Thanksgiving with whom it should be spent with and to save Black Friday shopping, for 12:01 a.m. on -- you guessed it -- Friday.
