Turkey. Mashed potatoes. Ham. Stuffing. Gravy. Pumpkin Pie. Friends. Love. Joy. Family. Laughter. What do all of these things bring to mind? Thanksgiving Day. The tradition of Thanksgiving began in the early 1600s shortly after pilgrims’ ships landed on American soil. To celebrate their arrival and all of their successful harvests, they feasted merrily and gave thanks for a time of such great fortune. From that point on, American people made it a point to honor the holiday around the same time each year. Since those times, however, Thanksgiving traditions have changed significantly. Today, Americans are more focused on getting to their stores early as possible before the much anticipated Black Friday begins. Businesses have recognized this …show more content…
trend by opening their doors as early as 24 hours before the biggest shopping day of the year technically begins. Why is this a problem? It completely overlooks what Thanksgiving is all about – being thankful for family, opportunity, and life in general. In order to abide by strong ethical values and good business practices, companies should observe Thanksgiving as a national holiday for their employees and consumers, and therefore should no longer open their doors to the public before Black Friday. The first reason that businesses should not open their doors on Thanksgiving Day for Black Friday shoppers is that it is unfair to employees. Businesses that expect – or, in some cases, force – employees to work long or atypical shifts are doing a huge disservice to their own companies. Businesses that stay open around the clock beginning on Thanksgiving Day or that evening, which would not usually be open overnight otherwise, expect employees to prepare the store for the shoppers, engage happily in customer service, and restock the shelves as quickly as possible while consumers flood the store. These are not typical working conditions and tend to place employees under a lot of stress while working. Factor in that getting paid more for working holidays is a luxury in the American capitalist society and not necessarily a guarantee. Not only do companies such as Kmart, Macy’s, Target, Starbucks, and Best Buy require their employees to work on nationally recognized holidays, they can even fire them for refusing (Figueroa). It is clear that some companies hold making a profit in higher regards than the welfare of those who make their business function, their employees. This brings up a second point: ‘Black Thursday’ is not as profitable as one might assume.
Though it makes sense to think that opening the doors one day early would increase sales revenue tremendously, the numbers tell a different story. According to CNN Money, “Sales over the full four-day period from Thanksgiving to ‘Black Sunday’ rose only 1% from 2012 to 2013. That’s an anemic growth in the retail sector” (“Opening on Thanksgiving Day Doesn’t Boost Sales”). Consider that, because this is the busiest shopping weekend of the year, more employees will be in the store and on call over the course of the weekend. This means that more money is being paid out to employees – they are not necessarily making a higher dollar amount, but rather they are working longer shifts – so how profitable can opening a day early be? The small increase in revenue could be attributed to a few things. The first is that online retailers are dominating the shopping industry. Online shopping is easy and convenient, and it does not require consumers to leave their homes or their families on Thanksgiving, though employees that work for exclusively online companies, such as Amazon, are staffed around the clock, especially on this particular weekend. Another explanation may be that consumers are actually inclined to wait longer to go holiday shopping because they think they will get better deals in doing so; there might be a surprise blowout sale in which a company advertises that it wants everything …show more content…
gone out of its stores over the Black Friday weekend. That means that, if a store opens on Thanksgiving, consumers may be less inclined to go to that store if he or she anticipates better sales later on. In addition, in 2013, stores that opened on Thanksgiving saw a dramatic 1.5 billion dollar decrease in sales revenue on actual Black Friday (“Opening on Thanksgiving Day Doesn’t Boost Sales” This figure may also explain why there was only a one percent overall increase that weekend in 2013. Is this tiny profit margin really worth exploiting employees and exhausting a company’s resources? Lastly, stores should not open on Thanksgiving because it is just plain bad business. Aside from forcing employees to overwork and work on a holiday for a small profit, stores that do not encourage consumers to value the time they have with their families have an ethical dilemma. The holiday season is not about shopping and buying gifts; it is about spending time with the family, and, as the only holiday that promotes this very principle, Thanksgiving should be held in high regards by all American businesses. How often are people able to get away from work and responsibilities to gather together and simply enjoy the presence of one another? In America, such days are far and few between. Costco is an example of a company that is socially responsible to its employees and its consumers because it values both of these sacred resources equally. CEO James D. Sinegal told the Washington Post in 2012, “If you treat consumers with respect and treat employees with respect, good things are going to happen to you” (McGregor). For this reason, Costco remains closed every year on major U.S. holidays. Furthermore, this approach has other potential benefits such as more Black Friday shoppers and higher employee morale, unlike its major competitor, Wal-Mart, which faces the wrath of boycotts each year around Black Friday. As reported by the Huffington Post, workers there are most dissatisfied with pay, hours, and management around this time in the holiday season (Jamieson). Bad attitudes and an unhappy work environment can certainly trickle down onto the thousands of customers that Wal-Mart sees on Thanksgiving each year, causing an already chaotic environment to become more hostile than usual. Even if the company offers great deals on Thanksgiving, this cycle of bad business can deter shoppers from going to Wal-Mart all together during that entire weekend. An ancient tradition has been lost in the midst of the American capitalist market.
Companies have grown so greedy that they value getting the sale over keeping the customer by respecting that all people should be at home with their relatives on Thanksgiving Day. Opening early to get ahead in business during the busiest holiday shopping weekend of the year is an immoral and unethical business practice. When companies force their employees to work on Thanksgiving without incentive, it shows where companies’ values lie. Though good business is built from social responsibility and respect for a company’s own resources – its customers and its employees – it seems that a lot of companies have adopted the socioeconomic approach to business, meaning they are more concerned about beating out the competition to attract consumers by opening a day early. While research indicates that Thanksgiving Day sales may actually hurt a company’s total sales revenue during the Black Friday weekend overall, a lot of businesses are unfortunately continuing to open earlier and earlier each year. If this does not come to an end, will Thanksgiving eventually be forgotten? Requiring that companies close their doors on Thanksgiving will not only promote ethical consideration for consumers and employees alike, it will potentially reduce the risk of sales revenue loss on Black Friday and it will honor what the holiday is truly about – family and being
thankful.
When the great holiday of Thanksgiving comes to mind, most people think of becoming total gluttons and gorging themselves with a seemingly unending amount of food. Others might think of the time spent with family and friends. The whole basis of the holiday is family togetherness, fellowship, and thankfulness for blessings received during the previous year.
Thanksgiving Day is a day of family, food, and giving thanks for the blessings in life and yet some people believe Thanksgiving to be a prep day for Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. The focus of Thanksgiving shifted from family bonding to incessant shopping. This trend of taking away from the hours of Thanksgiving in order to shop is enraging. It steals away from family time for the shoppers and the employees. Employers threaten workers that if they do not work on that certain holiday, they will be fired. Black Friday should be kept to Friday instead of moving in on my family time. The whole culture of Black Friday has become repugnant and unnecessary.
The table can be filled with many different types of foods, and it differs from family to family. However, there are some foods that are seen at almost every Thanksgiving table. First off, the turkey, it is the most important part of the celebration for most families in the United States. There are multiple reasons to why the turkey has become such a big part of Thanksgiving. For example, a colonist named William Bradford wrote in his journals that colonists hunted wild turkeys during autumn of 1621, which is named as the first Thanksgiving. Another reason to why the turkey is an important part of the holiday is because the birds are big and can feed a lot of people compared to other birds such as chickens (Trex, 2008). Although the turkey is the most important food on the table for most families, it is common for most families to also serve some sort of sweet potatoes, for example, a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. As Thanksgiving is a feast holiday a dessert is usually also served, one of the most common desserts on Thanksgiving is a pumpkin pie. The pumpkin has been around for hundreds of years, and always been a part of thanksgiving, however, it is more likely that the pumpkin was served after being baked or stewed rather than a pie on the first years when Thanksgiving were celebrated (Trex, 2008). As it is a feast holiday the table has many more types of foods, but it varies from family to family what is put onto the table, however, the turkey, sweet potatoes, and the pumpkin pie is almost always found at every Thanksgiving
Imagine having to work on thanksgiving. Not only do those people miss out on Black Friday, but also miss out on time with your family. They also get to go to work more than likely sleep deprived, deal with unpleasant customers, and constant lines. Curtis West worked as a Macy’s employee. In his 24 years of work for them he had to work a total of 19 Black Fridays. He said it wasn’t bad when Black Friday started off, because it usually meant going in at 5 am on Friday. Now for sto...
During fall, the leaves fall, the temperature drops, and people sit around a table and say what they are thankful for. While we are consuming pounds of turkey and stuffing, the Pilgrims are to thank for the annual feast. Because the meaning of this holiday is to not stuff your face with endless amount of carbs, we should be reminded of how grateful we are for what we own. Thanksgiving was a very memorable time in U.S. history.
Starting the day right after Thanksgiving, everybody’s mind is set on one thing: Shopping. People young and old wake up early in the morning to start their holiday shopping. Everyone is looking for the perfect gift for their family and friends. But nobody cares to think of what the employees at their favorite stores think and feel. Shoppers just come inside and turn the store upside down.
“Man masters nature not by force but by understanding. This is why science has succeeded where magic failed: because it has looked for no spell to cast over nature”. From the beginning of time man and nature has been in conflict with one another because, as a whole, there is no cooperating. Each one tirelessly wants its way. The Man is fighting for dominance and nature w never yielding its authority. In American Literature, many authors illustrate this theme in their writing. Specifically the writers Jack London in The Law Of Life, Stephen Crane The Open Boat and Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Fin. Each explores the relationship between humans and nature but with slightly different methods. Mark Twain uses nature in a realistic way, Jack London in a naturalistic way and Stephen Crane constitutes a combination of both.
A big part of Thanksgiving is a Thanksgiving feast. The feast usually consists of potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, peas, gravy, stuffing, salads, buns and lots of other great food. The main part of the feast is usually the turkey. Other families might have ham, roast beef, duck or chicken. The dessert that is most likely to follow the feast is pumpkin pie. Other people may choose different desserts and food depending on their customs and beliefs for which they choose to give thanks. Let’s not forget the biggest and most important reason for this holiday – giving THANKS! People usually give thanks for everything they have. Their jobs, health, families or just being alive are just a few of the things that people give thanks for.
What makes a good person good? According to WikiHow, "We should learn to define our own morals ourselves. One of the simplest ways to do so is to love others, and treat them as you would like to be treated. Try to think of others before yourself. Even doing small things daily will greatly enrich and improve your life, and the lives of others around you." This quote shows us what we need to do in order to be what society thinks as, “good". In order to be a good person, you have to do good and moral things in your society consistently. However people might think that by doing one good thing once in a while will automatically make you a “good person”, but in reality it doesn’t.
In fact, they have fun on the day because they love the atmosphere through Christmas songs and illuminations. Christmas is thought by many people to be the most wonderful time of the year. Winter snow, Christmas tree, decorations and Santa Claus are very important things which makes us happy and think that it is the most beautiful day of all the year. Everybody waits for the day because it has various meanings for different people. Moreover, they can see beautiful illuminations and listen to Christmas songs in cities or downtown. However, some adults who are parents need to spend money for buying many gifts for children. In the United States, parents generally purchase the gifts on a Black Friday. It is good for them to get their presents on the day because they more discounts on that day than other
Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.
My thanksgiving party is huge!!! We invite our huge family over to my house and we have a grand time. We have a lot of games planned so that no one is bored. But if they do get bored every once in awhile, then we have the football game on so that they can relax and watch that. We aren't the only family that ginormous party just like my family or they might just have a miniature party that is very quiet with just a couple of family members.
First,I think it should be called President’s day cause you are not just celebrating George’s birthday you are celebrating George and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. This is my second reason why I think it should be called president day cause 50 states are changing it on their calendar to President’s day. Finally I think it should be called president’s day because you are not just celebrating on person’s birthday but all President’s birthday.
Thanksgiving Day is the national holiday celebrated in Canada, the United States of America and many other nations of the world with a lots of joy and enthusiasm. In America, it is celebrated every year on the fourth Thursday of the November month. This day is commonly celebrated to thank the God for the “bounty of autumn harvest” and for his blessings; with an euphoric environment in every houses and places, celebration of this day is done by eating delicious foods mainly “carved turkeys, Pumpkin Pie, Corns, Cranberry Sauce, potatoes and yams which are the traditional dishes adorning the dinner tables” (Smith). In this day, gifts are also given to show gratitude and respect towards the elders, relatives and friends.
Workers are necessary to work for longer hours as the business is open until that time. For some workers, this is necessary as they need more money to improve their lives especially if they have many children. Longer shopping hours leads to more consumption. Consumption is one of the most significant parts of the whole economy as it encouraged the business to produce or to sell goods and services. As the level of consumption increases, the wages or salaries for the workers may increase as well due to their good performance at their work. High level of consumption benefits the business because the business can make profit and push the economy further. Due to the increase in profit, they are more willing to produce and sell; therefore, they may provide more job opportunities in the labour market. Employment usually increases after better shopping hours are introduced. According to this, the employment rate increases and there will be higher levels of household income and consumption. Evidence from the rest of Australia and overseas shows that extended shopping hours increased economic activity levels to more jobs across the economy. Although an Acnielsen survey published that 51% of male and 44% of female believe that work hours determine their sleep schedules, the workers need to work to shoulder their family. Even though the business may be greedy to sacrifice the public garden in order to build more shopping malls to make profits, maybe such cases are rare because of the government. Extending shopping time benefits both workers and business to increase their revenue and improve their life