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Civilisation: Thanksgiving and Black Friday
It has come from the United States, and for a few years, its fast breakthrough surprised us a little
more every time... Black Friday is a phenomenon! Let's see how it became so 'inevitable'...
I) A QUESTION OF DATES: a brief HISTORY.
THANKSGIVING Thanking the Natives and God: it's undoubtedly the most popular American
festivity, the one that the majority of Americans choose to gather and celebrate with their families.
Let's remember:
Originally, the first settlers (the Pilgrims) established this tradition in order to thank 'Natives'
for the help they had given them (ie: how to fertilise the land with rotten fish). The first harvest
was plentiful and the Pilgrims thanked God and the Natives for it.
Now it is a huge meal of a roasted turkey, potatoes, all sorts of vegetables, sweet potatoes, green
beans with sour sauce, cranberry sauce,... apple pies, pumpkin pies, etc.) [between 2,000 end 5,000
calories. It is said that the weight gained on Thanksgiving is still here on the following one!]
This festivity went on and transformed itself into a family gathering. The different relatives
of the extended family scattered over several States met to share the traditional meal, and
thank God and everyone for all the blessings of the year.
Formerly, Thanksgiving used to be celebrated on the last Thursday of November. As early
as the following day, the population started shopping for the Christmas Season. Yet, in 1939,
November had five Thursdays, which, according to the retailers, started the shopping season
too late. That's why Thanksgiving was moved to the fourth Thursday of November.
BLACK FRIDAY: (The Friday following THANKSGIVING): Why was it given this name?
Several explanations were suggested...
a) At the end of the year, and before the end-of-the year festivities, business was calm and the
retailers' accounts were often 'in the red' traditionally indicating an overdraft and a deficit in business.
After Thanksgiving, business was back on track and the accounts went back 'into the black', which
means that the sales were taking off again. It was Black Friday which pushed retailers back 'into
the black'!
b) - Less flattering, is the explanation reporting a true chaos, brawls, scuffles, and even casualties,
caused by people looking for bargains and by looters in the shops of Philadelphia, in the 1950s and
1960s...
- Not flattering either, but less surprising in Philadelphia, the experience of the football match
opposing The Army and the Navy on the Saturday following Thanksgiving 1963. A hord of
supporters coming from the surrounding area wreaked havoc, violence and chaos; once again,
the words Black Friday were used!
So, is the origin of the name due to one explanation or the others? It doesn't matter, really.
Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving, for one reason or another, it sees the new
start of the sales of the Christmas Season, and the New Year Festivities, provided prices
are given a little help.
Gradually, the event became 'contagious', many countries adopted this commercial 'discovery'.
(Costa Rica is one of the few exceptions.)
II) WHEN? WHERE? and WHAT to buy and WHAT to skip?
This year, BLACK FRIDAY is on Nov. 29 and thanks to many important discounts, it marks
the beginning of the long commercial period till the end of the year.
- When go shopping for Christmas and the Season? This year, the best period is between 22 Nov and 2 Dec. (Cyber Monday). Presents can be bought online and delivered, or purchased online and picked up by the consumer outside the store (click and collect).
1) LES BONNES AFFAIRES DU BLACK FRIDAY: (GOOD DEALS)
- electronic appliances (electronics) (including laptops, smartphones, tablets, smart home
devices and TVs.)
- guitars and musical instruments bought in second-hand shops and online.
- Toys and sporting goods
- Headphones
- Les aspirateurs et robots (Vacuums)
- gros éléctroménager (major home appliances and small ones)
2) BAD DEALS OF BLACK FRIDAY ( Bad deals - articles carrying credit card debt)
- Less bulky items, and less expensive ones have much smaller discounts...
- Small kitchen gadgets
- Linens and towels
The worst day to do your Christmas Season Shopping is the Saturday before Christmas (called
Super Saturday) The stores will be crowded, the items you want may be out of sale, and the prices
are sure to be very very high! Yet, that day is still very popular ans les magasins, and late-shoppers
are more and more numerous, trying to catch the best deals...
Very long lines to enter the stores... and longer ones to cash out your purchases...
Waiting time (waiting lines) last thirty-five minutes on average. Yet, some people wait more than an hour,
and even up to two hours. Therefore, it's not surprising that tempers should flare up... Since 2006,
11 people have died and more than 100 have been injured in Black Friday-related incidents. More people
die while shopping on Black Friday than in shark attacks.
BLACK FRIDAY is the biggest shopping day in the United States. Now, it has turned into more than a month-long event. Yet, let's not forget the late-shoppers of Super Saturday (the Saturday before Xmas) when prices are skyrocketting, but when lots of laptops, smartphones, tablets, smart home devices and TVs are sold anyway...
There is better and worse in the phenomenon... Knowing it, simply to choose the better... and avoid the worse!... Let's go for the test!

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