Only in America do we wait in line and trample each other for sale items one day after giving thanks for what we already have.
It started out simple enough. In fact, it makes a lot of sense when you take it at face value.
Since 1940, the Thanksgiving holiday has been celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday of November. Of course, the holiday pre-dates our current calendar designation by hundreds of years. The first nationwide celebration of Thanksgiving was established by our first president, George Washington when he proclaimed Thanksgiving to be, “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God.”
After the Thanksgiving holiday, we begin looking forward to the next: Christmas. Given the fact that exchanging gifts on Christmas dates back to the 4th Century, it makes perfect sense that the holiday shopping season would begin at this point. Indeed, it always has. Even the Macy’s Day Parade, which began in the 1920’s, was originally made up of store employees marching to Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes.
For a very long time, the Friday after Thanksgiving has marked the beginning of the Christmas season—and rightfully so I might add.
Sometime in the 1980’s, we began referring to this day as Black Friday. The most common rumor surrounding the name is that the day after Thanksgiving is the first day of the year that retail stores make an actual profit and their Accounting books turn from “red” to “black.” This, of course, could not be further from the truth, and has been confirmed as myth from almost every reputable historical source.
The true history is that the term “Black Friday” was originally used as a negative designation of the Friday after Thanksgiving, when, in Philadelphia, unruly fans would descend upon the city, its merchants, and its police force for the annual Army-Navy football game.
Sometime in the late 1980’s, however, the term Black Friday was usurped by retail stores nationwide and turned into something that reflected positively, rather than negatively, on them and their customers.
Again, this makes perfect sense. Retail stores are more than welcome to celebrate the beginning of the holiday shopping season with discounted prices on their items. If I owned a retail outlet, I would probably do the same.
However, at some point during my lifetime, things began to change. Black Friday became more than a day to celebrate the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Black Friday became an event in and of itself.
At first, it was a plethora of advertisements that would arrive on our doorstep Thanksgiving morning. It wasn’t all that long ago I can remember rushing to get the paper so I could begin thumbing through the sales for the following day. Little did I realize at the time how those ads were affecting me—a day originally set aside for giving thanks was quickly becoming a day focused on all the things I didn’t have.
Somewhere around that time, stores began going to extraordinary lengths to attract shoppers. A simple discount on their goods was no longer sufficient. To prepare for the day, national retail chains would begin planning months in advance to secure the hottest consumer products and offer a limited amount to the first customers at a net loss. They may lose a little money on the item, but the offer would lure customers into their store on that important day. Camping out in front of stores and trampling other shoppers suddenly became a thing.
Stores began opening at 6am on the day after Thanksgiving. And for most of my lifetime, this was the story of Black Friday.
But things began to change in the late 2000’s. At first, stores began competing for shoppers by opening earlier and earlier on Black Friday. Looking back, it appears almost inevitable. Doors opened at 5:00am and then 4:00am. And once the ball got rolling, there was nothing in place to stop it.
This was taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers opened at midnight for the first time.
In 2012, stores took the unprecedented step of opening on Thanksgiving Day (8:00pm).
By 2014, stores began opening their doors at 5:00pm on Thursday. This year, some stores will open at 3:00pm on Thanksgiving Day.
And just when you thought we had reached a new low in our society, Verizon renames the day before Thanksgiving: Thanksgetting—as a means to promote its holiday deals and lure shoppers.
With each encroachment, the Thanksgiving holiday gets squeezed a little bit more.
A day previously set aside for giving thanks has been hijacked by retailers hoping to earn a dollar. (tweet that)
But Thanksgiving is important. Giving thanks calls us to recognize and celebrate the good in our lives. And in a society that works so hard to distract us from our blessings, the importance of giving thanks cannot be overstated.
Gratitude matters. It breeds contentment, helps us overcome selfishness, and encourages generosity. Grateful people are happier, healthier, and experience greater life satisfaction. Gratitude reminds us that what we have is enough and we have been provided for already.
At some point, it seems, we need to make a statement. We need to rise up and reclaim Thanksgiving. We need to reclaim it in our hearts and we need to reclaim it in our society.
That time is now! And who better to lead that charge than us?
Will you commit with me to not allow retail outlets to encroach on your holiday and distract you from gratitude? Will you commit to focus on the blessings in your life and celebrate your provisions from the previous year? Will you be vigilant about not allowing consumerism to creep into your Thanksgiving celebration?
If so, tell us on Facebook and Twitter how you intend to overcome consumerism and reclaim Thanksgiving this Thursday. Tell us about your holiday traditions or plans. Or simply express your gratitude by sharing with the world what you are thankful for this year.
With each tweet or status update, include the hashtag: #ReclaimThanksgiving.
With each individual participant, we will remind more and more people of the importance of gratitude. And we will take a stand against the retailers who continue to trample on it.
Stephanie L says
As kids, we understood (more or less) Mom working on Thanksgiving – she was an ER/trauma nurse, and those folks HAVE to work some holidays. We would’ve been far less understanding, I suspect, if she worked on Thanksgiving in a retail position.
The turkey breast currently in the oven is for the police officers on duty today. We’ll bring the full dinner. My husband and I are grateful for their service, and I have a karmic debt to the folks who brought treats to my Mom and the rest of the ER on the holidays.
Tomorrow we’ll continue our tradition of going for a hike and making an end-of-the-week pizza at home. On principle, we absolutely refuse to take part in the madness of Black Friday. We give each other one gift, all the nieces/nephews get a bookstore gift card for Christmas, and we really only shop for our parents.
Have a wonderful, meaningful holiday season, everyone!
julia says
wonderful article….another aspect of thanksgiving that has changed in my lifetime is the focus on rich, rich food, and an overload of the senses with SO MUCH food! it seems that every dish must be “interesting” and complex. and gorging oneself. and exhausting ourselves to get ready. we are having simple roasted chicken with steamed veggies and rice. and a simple dessert…coconut ice cream. i do not understand why some people actually like to stuff themselves to the point of feeling sick. for us, the celebration will be gathering together our beloved family, and enjoying each other. christmas will be the same way. we will not exchange presents but will be present with each other…a walk in the fresh christmas morning air..and a day together.
Cheryl Smith says
What an edifying and needful post, Joshua! I couldn’t agree with you more. It is just SO sad to me that the one day that is set aside for the sole purpose of giving thanks to Almighty God, has been eroded by the greed of man. I am not on Twitter or Facebook, but may I proclaim here that I am totally on board with what you are suggesting? If everyone would take this stand, the stores would be forced to close their doors and would no longer be able to cash in at the expense of Thanksgiving. Oh, my, I miss the old days! I must be getting old! LOL!! :) Wishing you and your family a HAPPY & BLESSED THANKSGIVING!!
Dan Erickson says
I appreciate the research that went into this article. It’s an interesting history. I’m also for reclaiming Thanksgiving.
mimi says
And it seemed to have made it’s way here to England, maybe it made its way here earlier, but around last year or two years ago was when i started hearing stores in England talk about it, we don’t even celebrate thanksgiving, and British stores are filling up my inbox with emails about black Friday like its this wonderful event that we were looking forward to all year…and we’re in England! the ridiculousness made me repeat that. anything to get more money i guess, “up to” 50% off they all scream, just to get people in their stores and make more money.
ren says
I vote with my checkbook…its easy…don’t shop at the places where u don’t agree with the holiday policy.
Daisy @ Simplicity Relished says
I love Thanksgiving itself partly because it is so difficult to overrun with marketing. What can you sell people on a holiday that is really about gratitude and gathering?
I think that, sadly, we now count our holidays by the way marketers tell us we should. And because Thanksgiving is so hard to market, I understand the slow takeover of Thanksgiving with insidious sales and competitive shopping. I’m 100% with you, Joshua, on reclaiming the one day in our calendar dedicated to gratitude.
Matthew says
The only way I’ve ever participated in Black Friday was by working in retail–opening the store at 5:00 AM (give or take). I’ve never gone shopping on this day, but I’ve maintained other habits.
On the day after Thanksgiving, I write our annual Christmas letter and review the Christmas card mailing list. I put up the Christmas Tree and decorate the house with the kids. I begin figuring out what to buy the kids for Christmas (only 4 gifts each–something they want; something they need; something to wear; something to read).
During the month of December, we limit the invitations we say yes to. As a family, we observe the liturgical season of Advent–singing Advent hymns (no Christmas hymns until Dec. 24), lighting Advent candles, and attending our church’s extra Wednesday night worship services.
I keep a daily Gratitude and Thankfulness journal and I try to write a few extra thank you cards to those who made my life richer.
As another poster wrote, I don’t have to take back Thanksgiving; I never lost it. Same with Advent. Same with Christmas.
Erin says
It’s interesting, before I started my journey to simplify I was out there taking full advantage of Black Friday and such. I would feel frustrated by the overall attitude of people and how rude some people can be. A few years ago I started to question why I subjected myself to that and started to opt out on the craziness. This year, as my efforts to continue to downsize and simplify have gained momentum, my family and I have decided we will not exchange Christmas gifts at all. Rather, we will make one large donation to an organization that is reputable and invest in helping others. For the first time in a long time my heart feels full and excited about the prospect of the holiday. We will simply have a nice meal together to maintain the traditions of the season, and enjoy each other rather then be stressed and in debt.
I want to thank you for this blog, I find so many nuggets of wisdom in the posts as well as the comments from the readers. I appreciate that and often find that it continues to motivate me in my own efforts. So in spirit with the season, for you I am thankful!
JH says
In Canada our Thanksgiving is the 2nd Monday of October, and there are no shopping sales that correspond with the holiday. But we have ALL of the black friday sales here, so I’m sure the hoards will be lining up early in the morning for deals. (not my family!)
I have heard that some stores raise the original price, and then slash it, so it is not truly 50% off, or whatever they are advertising. Talk about sneaky!
I have not heard this movement of reclaiming Thanksgiving, but I like the idea. If we had Thanksgiving (and REI) here, I would pledge to opt out as well. I will be at work on Friday, and will be happy to be there. :)