Nov 18 2008
Black Friday Sales Start Early This Year
“Black Friday“, that phrase has an ominous sound. It brings to mind a day of mourning, or maybe some Gothic Holiday. I’m not sure who gave it this name, but “Black Friday” is typically the day after Thanksgiving, which is the start of the Christmas shopping season. This is the first time all year that many retail establishments begin to turn a profit, in other words they are in the black instead of losing money. There are always big sales with stores pushing loss leaders, customers lining up before stores open, and times for opening are pushed into the early morning hours. It seems that all these things just aren’t enough for some of the big chain stores. First they start displaying Christmas merchandise before Halloween and almost eclipsing Thanksgiving to push more shopping days on the unwilling consumers.
It’s really kind of sad to ruin the best shopping adventure of the year. I don’t know how it happens in other families, but after consuming mounds of turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, the strategy session begins. The guys all gather around the TV for an afternoon of football and the girls take the large bundle of ads that came in the morning paper and plan an attack on all the stores to pick off the best bargains of the day. We decide who goes to which store in order of importance, and just how long before day break should we leave and where do we meet for coffee after the first round. Everybody needs to get to bed early, be sure to set your alarm, don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes, and synchronize your watches. Ready, set, shop!!
I think we should boycott early sales that infringe on the “Black Friday” ritual. We Americans are strong people, and can endure lots of stress; the real estate bubble bursting, the banking system collapsing, the auto industry in trouble, but not the blurring of the boundaries of “Black Friday”. Changing the ritual of “Black Friday” shopping, well, that’s just Un-American!
Black Friday
