By: Juliann PeralaÂ
Black Friday- noun 1. The day after Thanksgiving, noted as the first day of traditional Christmas shopping, during crowds of consumers are drawn to special offers by retailers
Everybody knows about our country’s day-after-Thanksgiving consumer frenzy, even the dictionary.Â
What is happening to Thanksgiving? For some, it’s considered a religious holiday, for others, a day to appreciate family and loved ones. But for consumer America, Thanksgiving is now a day to line up outside Best Buy at midnight to fight fellow shoppers for that moderately discounted flat screen TV.
While part of me finds reason in some of the statements made by Black Friday shoppers (things like “The deals are awesome!” or “I just go to Black Friday for some harmless fun.”), something just isn’t right about this picture.
First of all, due to our shopping obsessions, we are making people work on a holiday. And not only do they have to work on a holiday, they have to work to meet the needs of crazed, forceful and sometimes rude customers. Everybody should be allowed to observe the holiday without distractions, even if they did choose to work the shift.
Next (and less important), turkey is proven to make you sleepy. Do you really want to stay up past your bedtime, or wake up super early while on vacation, to shop? If you are tired, dealing with the Black Friday madness is the last thing you’ll want to do.
Most importantly, Black Friday takes away from the importance of observing the holiday of Thanksgiving. It takes the focus away from family and giving thanks for what you have by focusing on what you don’t have and what you want. Granted, you probably won’t be spending quality time with your family at midnight when all of the stores open, but Thanksgiving and the want for new and better material goods should not go hand in hand.Â
So try your best to focus less on shopping this year and more on Thanksgiving and the importance of the holiday itself. Those amazing deals can wait.  Â
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