Has the true meaning of Thanksgiving been crushed? Thanksgiving is supposed to be a holiday where people give thanks and show appreciation for the things they’re already fortunate enough to have. This holiday has been pushed aside to highlight sales and deals that would surface for the yearly tradition of Black Friday, where people go through an all out war to buy items that become cheaper the Friday after Thanksgiving. Black Friday has become so popular and “in demand” by customers that many retailers have decided to be open on Thanksgiving Day, causing a huge deal of controversy.

Along with the list of stores that have decided to open on Thanksgiving Day, there is also a list of stores that refuse to open on Thanksgiving Day, calling this a campaign to “take back” Thanksgiving Day. The stores that will remain closed and are proud of it include Costco, DSW, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Marshalls, Nordstrom, TJ Maxx and many more. The stores who’ve decided to open and function during Thanksgiving Day include Kmart, Target, Toys R Us, Best Buy, Macy’s, Walmart, Radio Shack, JC Penny and more. Interestingly enough, Radio Shack once decided to stay closed on Thanksgiving Day then quickly changed that decision and then releasing this statement, “Last year, we left a lot of opportunity on the table on Thanksgiving and Black Friday because of our reduced opening hours.” Which is most likely the case for many of these stores that decide to stay open on Thanksgiving because profit is the most important thing, right? Wrong.

The huge pressure of opening Thanksgiving Day has become so severe that the Walden Galleria, a mall near Buffalo, NY has decided to open at 6 p.m on Thanksgiving Day. This brings a lot of pressure set upon tenant retailers. Not because of the hour of the opening of the mall but because they have no choice but to open. Stores inside the mall are being threatened with a fine if they refuse to open on Thanksgiving on that given time. The cost of the fine is unclear but the threat is obviously compelling enough to scare tenants into opening on Thanksgiving Day.

There are also a multitude of local malls that are opening on Thanksgiving Day. Many of which are going to be opening at 6 P.M. during dinnertime. The malls that will be opening at 6 P.M. on Thanksgiving are The Palisades Center, Poughkeepsie Galleria, The Galleria at White Plains and the Jefferson Valley Mall. Woodbury Commons on the other hand, opens much earlier at 10 A.M. Local malls that will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, as they should be, are Westchester Ridge Hill and the Nanuet Mall.

Although there are many petitions and people that protest against shopping on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, there is also a disappointing amount of people who will proceed to shop as early as possible even if it means shopping on Thanksgiving Day. I asked one teacher and one student “would you shop on Thanksgiving Day or Black Friday” and both answers were totally different. The PHS Librarian, Ms. Torp, says she wouldn’t go shopping either Thanksgiving or Black Friday as opposed to PHS student, Sade Langford, says she would go on both Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

So, what are your thoughts on Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping? Have people forgotten what Thanksgiving is all about? Or have we just lost value for the holiday altogether?