Black Friday: Keep Black Friday on Black Friday

Black Friday: Keep it on Friday!

 

 

Heard a commercial the other day about the biggest Friday of the year, Black Friday. The only thing is, Black Friday is not really on a Friday anymore. In fact, the name should be changed to Thanksgiving Thursday, come gobble till you wobble (shop till you drop).

 

Gingerbread Display at Grove Park Inn 2013

Once upon a time, Thanksgiving was considered a day to take off, for a majority, eat, enjoy football and family before getting ready for the Christmas shopping season. The sales actually started, wait for it, super early, as early as 3AM at times, on Friday after Thanksgiving. Somewhere along the line, retailers started wondering, if the doors open at midnight on Thanksgiving, would people come? Well, they did. After that, retailers thought, if the doors opened Thanksgiving night, more money could be made, more sales could be invented, and people would flood the stores and shop all night long and all day Friday. Not only would the retailers make big bucks, so would coffee shops or other eateries who decide to stay open or are already during this time. And since the people did come to shop, eat, and go crazy over deals that lasted less than an hour sometimes, Black Thursday was born.

 

It is great to have stores open, especially grocery stores, on Thanksgiving, just in case there is a need for something, but what happened to really preparing and just winging it and taking time to stay home enjoying other festivities for day? As a young girl, our family traveled to two Thanksgiving family gatherings and the only thing open, sometimes, were gas stations. After a few years, fast food restaurants begin to stay open, and Shoney's (which became a tradition for our family to eat a Thanksgiving buffet lunch at before eating southern homemade Thanksgiving dinner with family). Even so, the day was about family and food and it was not until the next day that we would wake up and travel to some stores with my aunt on Black Friday around 8AM. Now, people are skipping the day entirely, having to prepare stores before crowds journey in at 6PM or lining up all day to grab whatever items they want and more. In all, it just seems like Thanksgiving is being forgotten.

Turkeys in Seaside, CA

Thanksgiving is such a unique, special holiday. It is the one holiday that really is all about food and family and just being thankful. There is no gifts to buy, no worries about decorations, and is one of the, what this writer would call, laid back holidays. The weather is still good for grilling and it has to be one of the best ways to kick off the Christmas season. Plus, after a meal like Thanksgiving, it is better to get a full 12 hours of sleep before having to deal with the craziness of the official opening of the Christmas shopping season. In all, do not take this holiday for granted, truly enjoy it and make it Thanksgiving Thursday not Black Thanksgiving. Happy Holidays Ya'll.