Thanksgiving Thursday has recently turned into Pre-Black Friday. We spend Thanksgiving being thankful for everything we have, everyone who is in our lives, and so many more things, only to act like crazy people in stores that evening or the next day.
As Verizon says, "Happy ThanksGETTING."
I am not going to lie and say that I am someone who hasn’t fallen victim to this ordeal, because I have. I’m so thankful in the morning while I watch the parade and have breakfast with my family, but after getting all dressed up and having dinner, I find myself scrolling through my emails or searching websites to see who is having the best deals and when. Over the past few years, however, the fake holiday called Black Friday, a day where stores have sales to initiate the beginning of the holiday shopping season, has turned into the Grinch of Thanksgiving. Black Friday shopping has canceled out all the thanks we give. People stampede into stores and fight with one another for meaningless items because retailers purposely have less of a supply than they know they need.
It’s sad that a day that is supposed to be full of thanks is now a day where people rush to stores to splurge on items with little to no meaning so that they can buy more for less. Of course everyone loves a good deal, but it is not worth it to cut the day of thanks short. Thanksgiving is the biggest celebrated holiday, it is one of the few times a year that families get together. It is one of the first times many college students are coming home. It is one of the few days that people will travel far distances just to see those that mean the most to them. Why then do we limit ourselves to accommodate shopping?
Walmart recently released their 2015 Black Friday advertisement. The deals this year start at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27. Walmart has broken their deals into three events, two of which are on Thanksgiving. 6 p.m. is prime dinner and dessert time on holidays. Walmart is just one of the many stores that have begun to release ads that mention Thursday deals. This ordeal causes people to feel the pressure to leave their families and rush into the store to get the items they want at a cheaper cost, but it also forces employees to leave their families as well. Also, think about all of the effort people put into Thanksgiving- when they spent 10 hours traveling to see you, 10 hours over the stove cooking or baking, two hours setting things up, and three hours food shopping, the least we can do is repay them with gratitude, conversation, and laughs.
Black Friday has its own day, it does not need more than that. By occupying two or three deals, Black Friday is being greedy and unappreciative of the time they have, which is exactly what we are doing when we decide to put down our forks, close our mouths, and try to shop. I believe that whatever we are buying can wait, nothing is that important. Even if it is, spend the extra money if you can’t get there. The gifts you give during the holidays will always be appreciated if you put the thought and effort into them. Just because the gifts are cheaper and you can budget extra gifts, which most of the time turns into overspending, does not mean anything, because sometimes, less is more. Besides, the true gift of the holidays is who you get to spend it with.
Thanksgiving is a time for good company and good food. Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful- so this year, let’s put the thanks back into Thanksgiving.
