Every year on the day after Thanksgiving, consumers of all ages line up at participating stores for an American-invented holiday called “Black Friday.” The United States of America has built a reputation as a consumerist nation, and it seems to be one of our more important values.
We work 40+ hours a week, sometimes sacrificing family time or even personal health, just so that we can have more of the latest and newest things. But, of course, we want the best possible deal we could get on those new things. We want more for our money because, after all, it is our hard-earned money. Black Friday is a holiday that celebrates exactly that.
With students from different social and economic backgrounds, denominations and traditions, there are varying opinions on Black Friday. One student, Katie Melendez, a junior biblical studies major, said: “Black Friday, and the consumerism Christmas phenomenon in general, offers an illusion of relationships. Presents, packages and price tags promise togetherness, but they offer only comparison and fleeting connection at best.”
The holiday is meant to get a jump-start on Christmas presents, as you get the best prices possible on gifts for your loved ones. In reality, it’s a strategy meant to make you shop and spend more in the long run. The sooner the stores get you shopping, the more shopping (especially impulse buys) you are likely to do overall.
“There is no real reason to be sitting outside a store in the dead of night just for one TV. I don’t think it’s worth it,” said Hillary Smith ’13, APU alumna. “The thought of Americans being obsessed with having more ‘things’ in their life for the sake of Christmas is not nice at all.”
Participants typically line up at their top-choice store the night before Black Friday. Regardless of the temperature outside, they will camp out all night. The stores will sometimes open as early as 2 or 3 in the morning, and items can be marked-down for up to 50 or even 75 percent off. Masses of people pack the stores from the second they open and will oftentimes fight their way to the items they seek. At times, it’s gotten crazy enough that people get seriously hurt.
“I think it’s nice that they have sales and discounts, yet sometimes people get caught up in the excitement and it gets out of hand,” said junior psychology major Garrett Arnold.
Black Friday does have its benefits when it comes to discounts and making Christmas gifts more affordable for those who otherwise may struggle, but unfortunately it takes away from the original purpose of celebrating Christmas. People over the past few years have begun to lose sight of that, and Black Friday only contributes to the perspective that Christmas is about the gifts.
“[Black Friday] may have had innocent roots when it was simply when people began to look for gifts for their loved ones, but materialism has overtaken generosity in the holiday season,” said senior computer science major Jeremy Strohm.
A holiday that is meant to celebrate the birth of Christ and focus on togetherness, hospitality, family, generosity, kindness and peace has become more about the urge to keep up with the Joneses and jump at the first justified chance to pounce on the latest gadgets and other “valuables” at the cheapest price available. I cannot say that I’d love Christmas without presents because obviously that’s kind of fun, but I can say that I’m genuinely interested in what celebrating without the presents and flashiness would look like.