‘Gray Thursday’ threatens to replace beloved holiday
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Thanksgiving isn’t what it used to be. As a kid, I remember looking forward to a long weekend that usually involved a trip to Grandma’s house and the promise of a dozen or so cousins to run around with once Thursday’s feasting was done. We’d play football, hunt squirrels, help Grandpa with chores, and just generally forget about the outside world on Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was, and still is, my favorite time of year.
Now I realize that I have more to give thanks for than I ever knew. Apparently, in the real world, people eat turkey on Thursday and then head to the mall to camp out until the biggest sales of the year begin at an ungodly hour Friday morning. This year, Americans even had the option of heading to stores such as Walmart, Kmart, Sears, Toys‘R’Us and Walgreens, to name just a few, on Thanksgiving Day. Oops, I meant “Gray Thursday.” That’s the holiday formerly known as Thanksgiving that falls the day before Black Friday. Now, not to take the wind out of the sails of shoppers who scored amazing deals on Gray Thursday, but shopping on Thanksgiving? Really?
Walmart workers across the country protested the corporation’s plan to start after-Thanksgiving sales on Thanksgiving, but that didn’t stop stores from opening their doors Thursday afternoon. Now retailers are reporting the best Black Friday/Gray Thursday sales in years. While the increase is good for the economy, it’s not good for Thanksgiving as we know it. Employees at the stores open last Thursday had their Thanksgiving celebrations cut short. And the same is true for shoppers who, understandably, chose to take advantage of the price cuts and huge discounts from retailers open on Thanksgiving. One response to the situation is to merely shrug and say, “That’s capitalism,” or “Anything to help the economy.” Those are valid points. But what about the kids? What are they learning from all of this? Hopefully it’s not that family time is less important than shopping.
I hope young Americans aren’t going to all grow up thinking Thanksgiving is merely the meal that begins a three-day shopping frenzy. As a former kid, I implore you parents to keep the focus on Thanksgiving — giving thanks for the blessings of the previous year — and not on rushing to get the best buy on a new flatscreen TV. I promise you, a day or two or three of feasting, fellowship and fun with loved ones will stick in a child’s mind a lot longer than a trip to the mall.
I wouldn’t trade my Thanksgiving memories for anything. I’m so thankful that shopping wasn’t the cornerstone of our family gatherings, and I hope every American child gets to experience as much love and joy as I did each Thanksgiving. Trading that for “Gray Thursday” would be a sad loss indeed.
