November 23, 2012 | 3 Comments

Year of Faith (Black) Friday

I never like turning on the news on Black Friday. It’s always strange watching video clips of hoards of shoppers waiting in line and trampling into stores while Christmas music is playing in the background. Though I try to reconcile it by thinking that consumer spending drives the economy and thousands of employees are probably receiving overtime pay, the overall atmosphere of the day—after we just gave thanks for everything we have—is a bummer.

A great article that was published last year, 12 Most Charitable Ways To Spend Black Friday, outlines a number of ways to turn this unofficial American holiday into a morally positive one. Granted, these are things you can do all year round, but I think on days like today it’s always important to show our kids what the Season of Giving really means.

Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions. – Luke 12:15

 

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Author:Clare Zajicek

Clare Zajicek is the Marketing Content Specialist at Liturgical Publications, passionate about all things marketing and media. She specializes in creating materials and resources to help organizations communicate and engage with their members efficiently and purposefully.
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  • http://www.facebook.com/fkoob Frank Koob

    What people are “getting” mainly is what they hope to “give” to their loved ones that they usually cannot afford. Let’s give people a break on this one in an economy where they are in survival mode but still wish to do nice things for others. (and my son is in retail. He really depends on today and this shopping season. No overtime pay; just doing his job.)

    • Clare Zajicek

      Agreed, it’s great when people are thinking of others, especially those in need like mentioned in that article. I guess my “bummer” is more with the people camping out for days to buy themselves a 60+ inch TV.

  • bwest2

    Up until 2 years ago, I had worked in retail for over 20 years. Over 15 of those years were in management. As the years went on, “Black Friday” just became sillier and sillier to me and often something I began agreeing with less and less from a business standpoint. Over the last couple of years we have seen store openings begin earlier and earlier and by 2015 I am certain that “Black Friday” will begin in July. The truth is that there really is no justification to the earlier openings in regards to results and the “deals” really aren’t anything spectacular that you could not get in the weeks after or find a better alternative.