The Holidays – A time for family and friends or the latest deals?

Thanksgiving has just passed and while most people were with their families there were also people ready to hit the stores. Ironically, right after the day of giving thanks for what they have, many Americans took advantage of the opportunity to buy mass quantities of discounted merchandise — Black Friday. Some people argue that Black Friday keeps coming sooner and sooner every year; this year large retail stores such as Target, Walmart, Old Navy, and Kohls, opened on Thursday night so people can enjoy the deals right after enjoying time with their family. Others argue that Black Friday is a great opportunity to save money, get all their Christmas shopping done in one night, and get necessities for the rest of the year. Has Black Friday become more important than Thanksgiving?

But how did it begin?

Many people believe that the term Black Friday came from the sale of African slaves at a discount to plantation owners the day after Thanksgiving to prepare for winter. However, this is false. The term Black Friday originated in 1960 thanks to the Philadelphia Police Department. According to the Huffington Post, “- So at some point in the 1950s or 1960s — some put the date exactly at 1966 — the Philadelphia Police Department started to refer to the day after Thanksgiving as “Black Friday,” with the unrealistic hope that people would find the whole shebang distasteful and opt out of the collective consumer madness. At a minimum, it was a derisive way to describe an unpleasant day in the life of a Philly cop.” This was because, just like today, the day after Thanksgiving was a day of traffic jams, violence, and chaos — just to get the latest deals.

Black Friday seems to be the day where people are prepared for the chaos. Every year, there are videos on the web of people fighting at a Wal-Mart, Target, or any other super store for a television set, a gaming system, or a sweater. When the doors open, people get trampled, and even killed. It is expected for people to get violent, and even though it is looked down upon, it happens every year.

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