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One of the most significant holidays on the United States calendar took place this last week, and the celebrations were bigger and better than ever. Millions of people observed this almost-sacred day in the traditional fashion, while some favored the newer, more modern twists on the theme. It is a uniquely American practice, and one that unites both families and strangers under a common banner, then drives them apart in a frenzy of wild commercialism. It takes place once a year, on the fourth Friday of November, and is so strenuous that participants have to spend the day before in preparation. The typical method is gorging themselves on protein and carbohydrates in the form of turkey and stuffing, so they can maintain a high level of shopping energy through the next day. It is considered to be one of the busiest shopping days in the US calendar, and is known as Black Friday.

Black Friday is, of course, the traditional beginning of the Holiday Shopping Season in the United States. This is a multi-cultural, multi-denominational occasion that appeals to all, and runs through the end of the fiscal year. Other observances intersect with this high-time of spending - Christmas, in particular - but the meaning behind these days is generally considered less important than using them as opportunities to spend more money. Specific segments of the population note such holidays as Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, which also take place during this time. However, these celebrations tend to be more spiritual and less material in nature, so the rest of the country ignores them.

The origins of Black Friday are lost to the mists of time, although the best guesses of modern historians place it sometime around 1924 AD, when the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was first established. Conventional wisdom is that the term “Thanksgiving” in the title of the parade refers to the relief that business owners around the country feel when the Holiday Shopping Season finally arrives. However, recent discoveries have indicated that an obscure, archaic holiday was once practiced around this time, in which medium-to-large-sized family groups would assemble to express thankfulness and gratitude. This “thanks-giving” was highlighted by a grand feast and observing sporting rituals on television, among other traditional events. The participants would eat enormous amounts of food, mostly poultry and harvested goods, which is thought to be the precursor to the customary Gorging of Turkey that has replaced it. Some anthropologists claim the holiday is still celebrated in small, isolated pockets throughout the United States, although evidence to support this is slight.

[Note: A few observers have warned that the observation of Black Friday has lost its true meaning and become too commercial. Merchants are starting to ignore the traditional 5:00 AM openings and moving theirs to 4:00 AM in order to encourage more celebrants to jostle and shove in their establishments. This year, a few shopping malls here in Salt Lake City went so far as to open at midnight, and enticed shoppers with free refreshments. It is even whispered that some stores are considering encroaching on the traditional Day of Preparation and remaining open the Thursday before. What this would do to the Gorging of Turkey celebrations is unclear.]

The weeks following all-important Black Friday will also be filled with shopping and spending on a much higher level than usual. In a country that is noted for both excessive expenditures and disinterest for how that behavior is received in the rest of the world, it is a strange twist that we feel the need to justify our financial outpouring for this occasion. We do this by means of specific and often supernatural reasons. For example, it is not unusual for Americans to invoke anything from the Supreme Being to a magical fat man in a red suit as a basis for budget-busting during the Holiday Shopping Season.

Before long, the holiday-themed advertisements are pulled from the television, the sales at inflated prices are ended, and the exorbitant spree of consuming comes to a merciful end. But the trials are only beginning for the weary public, for at that time, the reckoning must begin. For those fortunate participants who have budgeted for the holiday, the impact may not be as difficult to absorb. Others enmeshed in these grisly rites will find their credit cards maxed and bank accounts completely emptied. The heartbreak of this “most wonderful time of the year” is enough to trigger states of depression in many, and the conclusion of the season is met with relief by almost all. Unfortunately, this is only a temporary reprieve, as it will re-emerge in ten months to greater fanfare. The next year is always bigger, brighter, louder, more aggressive, more excessive, and always more expensive.

The obvious question is: why do we subject ourselves to these traditions? No one seems to have a firm answer, but everyone is afraid to stop. The social stigma of not spending money on someone when they have spent money on you is too great to ignore. Gone are the days when the thought really did count, and it was enough to remember - and be remembered. Now we attempt to purchase affection and friendship with the most expensive (or expensive-appearing) gift our overburdened budgets can handle. We spend, spend, spend, until our accounts run dry, and then we spend some more. Modesty is a virtue for other seasons.

There are always a few apologists who try to reintroduce the old reasons for these holidays, and decry the materialization of our modern society. However, those people still buy as much as the rest of us. We also try approaching the Holiday Spending Season from a different viewpoint, and claim it comes from a place of love. This allows us to define our spending as “giving,” and rationalize the excess as trying to demonstrate our tender feelings to others.

That is the way most Americans like to view the upcoming season: I love my family and friends so much that I am going to empty my bank account and strain my credit to buy them stuff. The holes in that logic are obvious and plentiful, but here in the United States, we try to maintain the pleasant fiction. If you ask us, we are simply thinking of others. In fairness, it should be noted that donations to charities and food banks are generally highest during this spending spree, materialism notwithstanding. Besides, in spite of the drain on financial resources it may cause, we are still giving gifts to others, in general.

I suppose there are other things associated with the holidays, which have little to do with money. The whole “Peace on Earth” thing is nice, although certain Americans are not exactly contributing to that goal. It is a great concept, though, and even if we only give it special attention once a year, at least that’s a start.

So, that is my brief description of the Holiday Season here in the United States. It may be much the same in other countries around the world, but I wouldn’t know. I am an American, which means I don’t really pay attention to what happens beyond our borders (with the exception of big international sporting events). We spend more money than we should, we eat more than we should, and we celebrate more than we should. This is only different from the rest of the year by the volume in which we behave excessively. However, we also give gifts, think of others, and sing about “joy to the world” and “bringing good cheer, to young and old, meek and the bold” (or however that song goes). Now if we could just somehow decrease the former while we increase the latter, we could really make a difference.
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