Sales, sprees, there are tons of these
Rain or shine, hot or cold, the weather does not stop the shopping craze as lines of people gather to make their purchases. “One time, my mom went with a friend on Black Friday. They waited in line since 9 a.m., didn’t get into the store until noon, and ended up shopping for four hours,” sophomore Orchid Wang said.
For millions of people, Thanksgiving means great shopping deals from the stores they love.
The Friday following the holiday has been known as the unofficial kickoff for the holiday shopping season since the start of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in 1924.
“Black Friday is a time for our family to go all out. We’ve ended up staying out until 4 p.m., going to Toys R Us, Macy’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and lots of other stores,” sophomore Lisa Zhou said.
“I always end up returning half the stuff I buy, which is probably not a good thing.”
The name “Black Friday” was first used in the 1960s to signal the start of the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to stores moving from “red” ink, which indicated a loss, to “black,” which meant a profit.
It also was used by policemen in Philadelphia to describe the congested streets filled with pedestrians going from store to store.
“Every Black Friday, there are massive crowds and people camped out in front of stores. I’ve always heard in the news about violence breaking out amongst shoppers but have never actually witnessed it for myself,” Zhou said.
This year, there are stores that have started their “doorbuster” sales early, opening on Thanksgiving night and hoping to attract more customers this way. Big stores that are doing this include Walmart, Macy’s, Kohl’s, and Best Buy.
However, Massachusetts, Maine, and Rhode Island have banned retailers from opening Thursday, allowing workers the day off. But, this will not stop the masses that will wait in lines this coming Black Friday for hours to get the deals they want.
