‘Black Friday’ starting to lose its holiday glow

Black Friday means different things to different people, and if you ask me it’s a concept that is losing its holiday luster.
If memory serves from my college days, “Black Friday” was once explained as the day many retailers finally made the jump from red ink to black, as in turning a profit. That’s a rather scary notion with only one month left in the year, whether you’re a small-town mom-and-pop store or a big-box chain steering the nation’s retail ship.
History buffs will point out that the term actually dates back to the 1950s, when huge crowds poured into Philadelphia on the day after Thanksgiving. Holiday shoppers reportedly collided with visitors arriving for the Army/Navy football game, thus overwhelmed police officers dubbed the day “Black Friday” to describe the chaos, long shifts, and headaches.
Somewhere along the way, the phrase went national as marketing gurus realized that once the turkey had been gobbled, the public’s attention could be steered toward Christmas shopping. I don’t recall ever getting up in the wee hours to chase a Black Friday deal, though I’ll admit I’m not the primary shopper in our family. Truth be told, I’m a procrastinator when it comes to filling my gift list, something I rarely even consider until long after the leftover turkey is gone.
While there’s still some buzz about the day after Thanksgiving, that line in the sand has long since faded. Hallmark movies start running in late summer these days, a sure sign that wives, moms, and tender-hearted folks of all ages are already in the holiday spirit. And, if you ask me, that also means Christmas promotions flood every marketing platform, whether we’re ready or NOT.
Another reason Black Friday feels different today is the sheer competition it faces. The list now includes Small Business Saturday (one of my favorites because it shines a light on local retailers), Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday, Green Monday (the second Monday in December tied to the last safe window for standard shipping by Christmas), and Super Saturday, which is also known as “Panic Saturday” for those of us still wandering the aisles on Dec. 23.
The older I get, the less attention I pay to national marketing campaigns and the more I cherish family time and the celebration of Christ’s birth, which of course has nothing at all to do with the color black, the day Friday, or gift giving for that matter. And it never did.
So if the retail world wants to kickstart Christmas in July, that’s their business. As for me, I’ll start the season when it truly begins; not with a sale, but with gratitude, family, and the quiet reminder of why we celebrate in the first place.
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net