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| marketwatch.com |
Walmart employees staged protests about working on Thanksgiving, but that didn't stop shoppers eager to grab bargains to place under the Christmas tree. They poured into the stores pushing, shoving, and grabbing everything in sight, including a total of 1.8 million towels. Towels? People will give up a relaxing day with people they live to shop for towels? That's something I can't fathom.
Black Friday, a commonly accepted term for the mad rush to Christmas shop the day after Thanksgiving, was coined in the early sixties and earned full recognition in the seventies. It simply means that retailers hope that it allows them to run in the black and show a profit for the year. Estimates state that 10% of seasonal sales occur on that day.
Ham on Wry sees a more ominous slant to the term, since retailers have commandeered part of Thanksgiving. It casts a dark shadow on a holiday that harks back to 1621 when Pilgrims shared a meal with Wampanoag Indians to give thanks for a bountiful harvest that autumn. The thankful part of Thanksgiving no longer exists in some households, since our nation largely bases its economy on consumer spending.
The Today Show aired a segment earlier this week about how kids prefer boxes to the toys or other gifts housed in them. It showed a day care center that had eliminated all the toys and replaced them with boxes, which resulted in kids learning cooperation, using their creativity, and enjoying themselves as they transformed boxes into all manner of things. Kids playing with boxes, pots and pans, and wooden spoons have offered some the funniest scenes I have observed. Maybe we're making something simple far too complex when we buy the latest toys and gadgets.
Ham on Wry loudly laments the early onset of Black Friday and calls for a return to the Thanksgiving Day that allows for a full day to eat with abandon and celebrate with those we choose. No more gulping down the meal and dashing out the door to shop. Please!
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