Black Friday – an American tradition that the UK has been trying to emulate for years. Like many things (prom, Halloween), the UK likes to copy America. Black Friday is the weirdest for me though. It’s the day that follows Thanksgiving in America. In an amazing display of irony Americans give thanks on Thursday and then decide they don’t own enough and want to fight their fellow citizens for cheap goods in the Black Friday sales. It really makes no sense to me why we have Black Friday in the UK when we don’t celebrate the American holiday of Thanksgiving.
What is Thanksgiving?
“Many people use it as a day to reflect on the positive things in life and spend time with their families.”
“Thanksgiving Day goes back to the time when Europeans travelled over to start new lives in America.
In 1621 a group of Europeans, who became known as the ‘Pilgrims’, invited the local Native Americans to join them in a feast.
The Pilgrims had had trouble growing enough food to eat in the years before. The Native Americans had taught the Pilgrims how to grow crops successfully and, to thank them for this, the Pilgrims invited them to a big feast.” – BBC
What is Black Friday?
“Black Friday is the name given to the shopping day after Thanksgiving. It was originally called Black Friday because the volume of shoppers created traffic accidents and sometimes even violence. Police coined the phrase to describe the mayhem surrounding the congestion of pedestrian and auto traffic in downtown shopping areas.
The history of Black Friday revealed it was a busy shopping day long before it got its name. In the 1950s, people began calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving to give themselves a four-day weekend. Since stores were open, those playing hooky got a head start on their holiday shopping. Rather than try to determine who was legitimately sick, businesses just added that day as another paid holiday. ” – The Balance
Why Black Friday is awful
There are many reasons why it’s awful, the main one being that it’s not great for the planet. Sales are a way to get people to spend more money because if someone thinks they’re getting a bargain they’re more likely to buy things that they don’t actually need or want.
Every single thing you buy has an environmental impact.
Some things obviously have a much higher environmental impact than others but everything has to be transported and energy or water used to produce it.
It’s a waste of money.
Apart from the obvious environmental impact of consumerism you’re also wasting your money. Look around your house and you’ll probably see loads of things you’ve bought in the past that you haven’t given a second thought to, stop buying stuff!
It’s dangerous.
In America in particular people are often filmed fighting each other for the last bargain in the shop. In fact, someone has died during a stampede in the past. In addition to this the number of car accidents goes up on Black Friday too.
You’re probably not getting as good a bargain as you think you are.
There are generally better deals at other times of year. Retailers have figured out that Black Friday is a good way of getting rid of stock they don’t want from brands that aren’t that popular anyway. They also keep the stock levels low so that they’re not giving everything away.
It’s the polar opposite of Thanksgiving.
On Thursday you give thanks for your family, your health, your home and your possessions and on Friday you fight people and spend more money than you were planning to.
This is one American tradition that I’m really glad some UK retailers are turning their back on.
“More than 300 clothing brands are asking shoppers not to buy anything in the Black Friday sales because of environmental reasons.” – BBC
If you do end up going to the Black Friday sales be sensible. Write down what you’re specifically looking for, check out the Black Friday deals that have already been advertised so you know where to shop, and don’t impulse buy!
Buy Less | Spend Less | Waste Less
References – http://www.businessinsurance.org/10-reasons-black-friday-is-awful-and-needs-to-go-away/
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