Black Friday

Today is that uniquely American day called Black Friday, or the day that many people lose their minds over sales, camping out in front of stores, pushing people out of the way, and fighting over the last red sweater in XL as a way of celebrating the legend of a child born in a manger.

The idea of the day after Thanksgiving being an unofficial kickoff of Christmas shopping goes back to the 1950s, but the term, as used today, is not as old. I remember I first heard in 1983, when I was working for a check authorization company (yes, kids, people used to buy things with paper checks) and that day was extremely busy. Stores opened earlier and earlier, going to before dawn to midnight, and now some of them start on Thanksgiving itself.

Many view the concept of a throng of people elbowing each other in the throat to be a barbaric side effect of our consumerist society, but still go shopping on that day anyway. I refuse to, wilting at the idea of trying to find a parking space, battling the crowds, standing in line at the cash register, etc. I don't care what kind of deal I can get. If they were giving stuff away free I wouldn't go. I don't buy Christmas presents anymore, anyway. My siblings and I have an agreement that we don't buy for each other, and while I did for a time give presents to my nephews and nieces (which number ten) my siblings understand and the kids don't expect anything from me anymore. I usually get something for my mother, but I can wait and send it online.

Since 2006 there have been ten reported deaths caused by Black Friday melees. What a dumb way to go. I enjoy getting a present as much as everybody else, and certainly my childhood days of Santa belief were joyous, but it's a shame we rest so much on this one day. The U.S. economy has even come to depend on this day, and the entire Christmas season, as a way to make up for any downturns during the year. And the poor people working in retail. I'd have to take a couple of Xanax before heading into work.

There have even been some inroads into Black Friday in other countries. This is bizarre, since these countries don't celebrate Thanksgiving and have no idea what the significance of one Friday in November would mean. But countries that celebrate Christmas are slowly introducing the concept of a period of time with great sales into their economic schemes. Once again, America leads the way.

I worked today, so there was no shopping for me. It was a slow day at work, too, as people were probably busy shopping and didn't have time to call their insurance company. That, at least, is a blessing.