Where did that term come from?
Are you one of the 154 million people who will be shopping today? Did you know that those people will spend 655.8 million dollars? If you average that amount among those shoppers, the average is $938.58 per person. WOW! Where did the term ‘BLACK FRIDAY’ come from? There are several theories, (the most popular) one is credited to the Philadelphia Police department. They used the term describing the traffic jams and the crowded foot traffic in the downtown stores the day after Thanksgiving. The label stuck, and Black Friday is still known for its heavy traffic and hordes of shoppers.
Thanksgiving was more or less a floating holiday, often falling at the end of November, until the merchants asked President Roosevelt to make the third Thursday of the month the official holiday. They didn’t get this accomplished until congress pass it into law in 1966, giving the merchants an extra week of holiday shopping before Christmas.
So, other than the congestion, what does, ‘BLACK FRIDAY’ mean for you? Is it a sporting event, to see how much stamina you have while shopping? Is it entertainment for your holiday guest? Is it quality time you have set aside to spend with your children? Does this day bring out the best in you? If you and another shopper see the last item on sale, will you fight over it, or will you be the gracious one and release it to the combatant on the other end? Will you let Black Friday blacken your heart against being practical, from keeping the meaning of Christmas in your heart, and staying out of an unnecessary debt? I can understand the excitement of the flurry of the day, but impulse buying is never a good thing. Or maybe you are very strategic about the order of importance and the availability of each product which you wish to procure. Either way, keep a Christian spirit about yourself while you are out today. You may not know what other people are, but your behavior should define you today! Don’t let this day be your ‘BLACK HEARTED DAY!’
As parents we need to teach our children what the holiday season is really about, and not the sales event of the year! Start early, instilling in their young hearts that it is the season of giving, not getting. Teach them about the greatest gift that was ever given, and is still offered today, as it was centuries ago. The Gift of Salvation, introduced as an innocent baby born in a stable.
We as writers have a blank canvas, and can paint the holidays with a plethora of various brushes. We can make the wonder of the birth of Christ the focal point of the holiday season, or a byproduct. The choice is yours, it was an easy choice for me.
Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
I Peter 3:3-4
Keep thy heart with all diligence;
for out of it are the issues of life.
Proverbs 4:23
As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.
Proverbs 27:19
Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalms 51:10