One of the most anticipated holidays of the year passed just last month: Black Friday. Black Friday, the fourth Friday of every November, is the busiest shopping day for stores in America, due to massive discounts and advertising. People often wake up as early as 4 or 5 AM or don’t sleep at all in order to avoid the massive crowds that usually accompany these large sales.
While Black Friday has become a tradition in the American experience, it ironically obscures the holiday that follows: Thanksgiving. The irony stems from the fact that Thanksgiving is usually associated with spending time with family and being grateful for what you currently have, while Black Friday promotes materialism and consumerism. Even worse, people sometimes skip the traditional Thanksgiving dinner with their family to get a head start on their Black Friday shopping.
This trend is saddening. People should not be cutting time to spend with their family or to reflect on their blessings short in favor of attaining mere possessions. Having Black Friday so soon after Thanksgiving undermines the very essence of Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving has many reasons to be celebrated. It gives us an important excuse to take a moment to be grateful for what we have: friends, food, family and so much more. Thanksgiving gives us the perfect opportunity to take a break from our hectic lives and enjoy what we have.
In addition, Thanksgiving gives people the opportunity to reunite with family members they may not have seen in months. Older siblings come home from college. Distant family members drive for hours to eat their annual family dinner together. Thanksgiving is one of the few occasions throughout the year where everyone is free to reconvene. However, Black Friday taints that experience by directing the focus away from family bonding.
Not only does it kill the grateful spirit, but the Black Friday shopping mania also claims the lives of several people every year. There have been over a hundred deaths in the past decade due to Black Friday sales alone. Everyone involved is at risk of sustaining an injury or possible death. Employees working on Black Friday are prioritizing a couple hours of wages over their lives and time with family, customers are prioritizing a new TV over their overall well-being and even those who do not sustain a major injury still have to suffer from insufferably long lines and frustratingly dense traffic.
Though the people fighting tooth and nail over a pressure cooker may convince you otherwise, major discounts occur throughout the year. Retailers take advantage of every single holiday to convince consumers to buy their products, which is why post-Christmas sales, Fourth of July sales and Memorial Day sales exists. In contrast, there is only one holiday dedicated to giving thanks.
Family will not always be there by your side, but accessories will always be there to take your money. Thanksgiving should be properly celebrated and cherished without being eclipsed by Black Friday.
Article by MoCo Student staff writer Ashley Ye of Richard Montgomery High School