Black Friday: Is This the Holiday Spirit?

I was at my mother’s home in New York the Friday after Thanksgiving, the day notoriously known as “Black Friday.” People hit the post Thanksgiving, pre-Christmas sales that begin traditionally on this date. The local outlet mall, Woodbury Commons, even decided to open their doors at 12 a.m (midnight) this year to boost sales and allow people to begin shopping as early as possible.

As we watched the local news that Friday night, we were amazed to see a story about a man who had been trampled to death at a Wal-Mart as the crowd that had been waiting to enter the store to take advantage of the Black Friday sales pushed forward in one huge rush and crushed him. They had also injured several other people, including a pregnant women. In their hurry to get inside the store, no one even bothered to stop and help the poor man. The throng just kept moving as fast as possible into the store.

Is this the holiday spirit we talk about at this time of year? Does the holiday spirit involve blatant disregard for the well-being of others and total regard for consumerism and getting the best deal no matter what it costs the next person?

At another Wal-Mart on Black Friday, two men drew guns in front of their arguing wives, and shot each other dead in the parking lot. The news report did not mention what the women were arguing about. Had one of them purchased the last of a particular toy or electronic item on sale that day? Did their husbands go to their defense?

I believe most people in America have totally forgotten the real meaning of the holiday spirit, and that makes this time of year – not just one day – black indeed. It’s a dark day when the spirit of giving becomes totally forgotten in the mad dash to get an item on sale no matter the cost. The season of light and love turns into a bleak testament to man’s self-centered desires and fears of lack.

And what happens while all those shoppers are at the outlet malls? The thieves have a hay day. My sister, who happens to love taking advantage of the great sales on Black Friday at Woodbury Common, avoided the place altogether when she heard that more than a few cars are broken into while people are merrily shopping.  Everyone gets a deal, I suppose…the shoppers and the thieves. More darkness brought upon the holiday season. While people are out purchasing gifts, which I admit does constitute the spirit of giving, they find that someone has taken from them. This cast a gloomy shadow on their spirit of giving. It puts a damper on their desire to give. It reminds me of the old pessimist’s saying, “No good deed shall go unpunished.”

How about we all avoid the malls and stores this year? Instead, let’s give gifts that can’t be purchased at all: time, love and attention. Give of ourselves. How about writing a poem for your loved one telling him or her how you really feel? What about giving your child a day with you spent doing whatever they choose.  Can you imagine visiting your parent with just a plate of their favorite cookies that you baked and a tape recorder and notebook and asking for a few hours during which they relate their favorite memories from their life?

Whatever you choose to give for whatever holiday you celebrate this December, do so with the true holiday spirit – the spirit of giving. Bring light into the world instead of making it darker than it is already. And if you venture out into the malls or stores, be aware of the people around you and the energy and spirit with which you make your purchases. Choose consciously how you will shop, what type of gifts you will buy and how you will treat the people in the stores – both other shoppers and the harried store clerks. Be the holiday spirit. Smile. Offer good cheer. Shower the wold with the light of your soul. Remember, it is pure. It has more light to shine than you can imagine if you let it – more than any Christmas tree or Chanukiah. Let it shine.