The stores that open for Black Friday are now opening on Thanksgiving Thursday, forgetting Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful for what we have instead of greedy for what we want. As a girl that has grown up practically living in retail stores, since my mom has been the store manager of one since I was born, I have seen how much Black Friday has changed over the years. And it hasn’t changed for the better.
I’ll start off by saying that I have been extremely privileged that my mother works in retail. Her hours have been decently flexible, and as she has raised me, it’s been a key component of her job. Without her job, I most likely would not be able to go to college, much less have participated in all the activities that I did growing up. However, every time the holiday season comes around, a time known for cheer and happiness, I see her stressed out, struggling to work sixty plus hours a week to meet sale standards. This used to start after the significant holiday of Thanksgiving, but in recent years this isn’t the case. As retail companies often pride themselves on treating their employees highly, I would like to think they would be able to sacrifice one day of income in order to give their employees the time they deserve with their families.
I’m not exactly sure when we Americans started to value the sales offered on Black Friday more than who is gathered around the table for Thanksgiving dinner. Frankly it’s quite sad, but it’s not entirely the consumers’ fault. Yet, as consumers we can change this. These companies and corporations have started to compete more intensely with each other over the years through online websites, magazine, television, and radio ads, and Black Friday has been the front-runner for competition. It’s a head to head battle with the ideology that whoever opens their store earliest receives more customers. One company decides to open a store earlier, and then the rest, trying to keep up, open even earlier. Now, people turn their dinners into lunches so they can make it to stores at 6pm on Thanksgiving Day. In the past, I was happy Thanksgiving wasn’t a commercialized holiday. It was about spending time with people to celebrate each other and appreciate everything life has to offer. But I can’t honestly say Thanksgiving stands for that anymore.
My mom has five sisters, and all of us gather at my Aunt’s house to celebrate Thanksgiving with one another. Together, there are over 33 important and amazing people that congregate at that house. However this year my mom won’t be there with us, because she has to sleep in and head into work before we even eat dinner. It’s sad because when I come home from college for Thanksgiving, I would love to be able to see her sitting around the dinner table with all of our extended family, with the opportunity for her to be thankful for everyone who is apart of her life; because I am so thankful that she is apart of mine. If we continue to do this, we skip the opportunity of bonding with one another for the material world, when the truth of the matter is, objects can wait, family can’t.
Before I go any farther, I want to address the people that do not think this is an issue. I’m going to address the people who argue that Policemen and women, nurses and doctors, and firefighters also work on Thanksgiving. Sure, it’s true, but these are individuals who ensure the safety of others by preventing tragedies from happening. Retail stores, although they may put the clothes on your back, do not revolve around emergency situations, so it is not necessary for them to be open. In addition, Thanksgiving is a unique holiday. It is not a religious celebration, but an American one. One that is based on family and values. Anyone can celebrate this holiday. Whether you’re a Christian, Jew, Muslim, Mormon, or anything else, this is a holiday for everyone. While I love that most stores close on Christmas, I do not understand why Thanksgiving-a national, nonreligious holiday-is not awarded the same respect. And it’s time that we, as Americans, change that.
I am grateful for my family and the people in my life everyday, but it is not often that such high values or qualities are celebrated, and I believe, as I am sure you do, that these qualities should be cherished. Our time here is precious, and worth the sacrifice of pushing Black Friday back to Friday morning so employees don’t have to miss Thanksgiving for something much less important.