I Realize I Am Old But ...

is black Friday really necessary?  I mean, when I was a kid, we had Thanksgiving which was a really quiet day for the most part.  The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxed as well -- some people had company for the weekend and families like mine just enjoyed the long weekend. We didn't rush through Thanksgiving with the focus on going shopping at some ridiculous hour only to trample people for "stuff".  In my family we didn't even start thinking about Christmas until December! Imagine that.

I went shopping this evening for an event at our church and I was appalled. My neighborhood Target looked like it had been ravaged by locusts and it didn't appear to be recovering.  Everything was completely picked over, shelves were empty, there was nothing to choose from and there was no evidence to suggest that there was any restocking planned. I mean, seriously?  It is only the beginning of December and I can't believe that everybody is done with their shopping.  What is going to happen to people who don't shop until mid-month, like when they get paid?  Not everybody like to shop for Christmas presents and Halloween simultaneously.  It was really depressing this evening. 

So, I have to ask -- is Black Friday necessary?