You didn't even need to worry about waking up early last Friday night to combat for saving up to 25%, 50% or who knows how much money on products —and all by spending it. This year, Black Friday started earlier, not even waiting for Thanksgiving to end, busting down doors and proclaiming, "Forget what you have now when you can have more!"
Toys R Us retail locations commenced their sales at 9 p.m., a time when many were just finishing up their Thanksgiving meals. Macy's opened their doors at midnight, welcoming some 9,000 people into their headquarter store in New York City. And as always, Wal-Mart marked their prices down starting at 10 p.m., staying open the usual 24 hours.
While not an "official" holiday, "Black Friday" carries on every year. It dates all the way back to 1966, with a name that originally held a negative connotation, originating from the Philadelphia Police Department's lack of endearment for the typical massive traffic jams and over-crowded sidewalks, as stated in Wikipedia.
The L.A. Times reported that, "Eventually the term ["Black Friday"] came to describe the start of the period when retailers see profits for the year and a kind of retail gluttony so divorced from the true spirit of the season that it made all but the most benumbed consumers feel conflicted, if not ashamed, of the excess."
Naturally, because of this madness, Thanksgiving has become a material holiday. People are turning away from celebrating the day of being thankful and are instead focusing on the next holiday, which is now just under a month away.
It seems like Wal-Mart was the hot spot to get caught in the violent crossfire of Black Friday. According to CNN, in California a woman pepper-sprayed twenty others as she tried to grab the last remaining item off a Wal-Mart shelf. In similar Black Friday related incidents, people were shot in a Wal-Mart parking lot in both California and South Carolina. Because of all this, Black Friday has become Black and Blue Friday thanks to all of these injuries.
Last year there was a move away from this tradition. Created by American Express, Small Business Saturday returned with a focus on local level retailers and other local communities vying for consumer attention. The day following Black Friday is intended for each person to spend money locally. Why? Local money stays local, unlike large retail chains. More so, it's a day to celebrate the little mom and pop stores down the street that you'd hate to see die.
The last shopping event before Christmas season is fully in gear is Cyber Monday, a day meant for shoppers to finally take a break, stay at home, and take out their credit cards to shop online. Cyber Monday, began by Shop.org to be "one of the biggest online shopping days of the year," concludes the whole weekend of rushing, stressing and turkey eating.
With such an emphasis on the weight of one's wallet, what has this time of the year come to? Not even finishing your Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, you start craving something more, things you don't have, forgetting about thankfulness and not appreciating what you have. You can't go out on Black Friday without being afraid of getting a black eye.
People act as though finding great deals is extremely rare. Take out your receipts and scour through the coupons. Save your money. If you pay attention, you will find that your deals may not be as astounding as you find them to be (Many businesses do heighten the "original price" to make the reduced price seem more of a deal). Have what you need. And be thankful for what you have. This is the time of the year for people to value those around them, not their wallets. Who do you think cares about you more: family or finances?
