Nov 29, 2013

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Life

by Marsha Ward

In my lifetime, I've seen a lot of Thanksgiving Days roll by. Sometimes they were spent with family members, whether a few or hoards of them; sometimes they were spent with friends; a few times they were spent alone. This year was a family time, and I enjoyed the company of my daughter and one of my sons. Unfortunately, the other children had other obligations, and couldn't attend the celebration. Be that as it may, we had a wonderful time together.

A new kind of celebration has come along in more recent years, maybe the last twenty or so. It's a "shop until you drop" merchant-driven frenzy called Black Friday, fueled by greed and conspicuous consumerism. It has replace a lot of families' tradition of putting up the Christmas decorations on the Friday following Thanksgiving Day. I avoid Black Friday's crowds with a passion. I don't recall a time I have ever ventured out of my home to be bashed and battered by other shoppers in pursuit of a bargain.

Now in the last couple of years, we have another "shopping day" when one can find great bargains, but this one is a little different. You needn't leave your home to indulge in a Cyber Monday spending spree, which takes place on the Monday after Thanksgiving. This is the day to surf the Internet in search of bargains both electronic and everyday. Select, click, and your gift or new acquisition is on its way to you or your giftee. I like the lack of crowds, so this is a shopping day that suits me.

I don't have any grand conclusion, just my observations. Let me pitch you a question instead. Which do you prefer: Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

2 comments:

  1. I've never participated in either event. I've considered going out on Black Friday...and then I think again. Not interested. Cyber Monday intrigues me. I wonder though...with coupons and sites like Groupon and Living Social, we seem to have created a false sense that there is actually a "real" price for something. I mean, who pays "full price" for anything any more? What does that mean? To me, the real price is the price I am willing to pay for something. What do you think?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually I found going out at midnight on Black Friday is fun. The crowds I've been around are upbeat, fun, respectful, and informative. Maybe it's just where I now live, but I love it. Cyber Monday is fun too. Maybe I just like to shop lol

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting. Feel free to comment on our blogger's posts.*

*We do not allow commercial links, however. If that's not clear, we mean "don't spam us with a link to your totally unrelated-to-writing site." We delete those comments.