Thanksgiving has changed.
The fourth Thursday of November once was a singular holiday. Typically tranquil. Non-commercial.
A peaceful atmosphere prevailed-- calmness infused with gratitude for all the good things in our lives tinged with regret for the less fortunate. We celebrated what we had--not what we could get.
Almost all stores closed. The exceptions were pharmacies and maybe a service station or two. That meant retail workers could spend the holiday at home with their families. The resulting downtown quiet emphasized the day’s specialness.
Most except the family cook—or cooks—spent the day watching parades and football on TV. The cousins brought each other up to date. Family and friends shared turkey dinner and basked in the tradition of being cooped up with the family.
That was then.
Now the Thanksgiving siren call is, “Put down the pie, pass the car keys, we’re off to the mall,” as a New York Times subhead put it. The headline summarized, “Holiday Sales Move Up, Even Before the Turkey Gets Cold.”
In the article accompanying that business-section headline, staffer Elizabeth A. Harris quotes 20-year-old Teagan Marshall, a New Yorker. The young lady said she liked the idea of shopping on Thanksgiving and added, “That seems like a good way to celebrate to me.”
For a 20-year old, that’s an understandable sentiment. The trend toward making Thanksgiving a super shopping day began roughly two decades ago. The old Thanksgiving well might seem alien to her. She grew up with Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping.
This year as Ms. Marshall reports, Macy’s and J.C. Penny will open on Thanksgiving evening for the first time. Some stores like Target are opening earlier than previously. Toys “R” Us will open at 5 p.m. Old Navy will open many of its stores from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thanksgiving. And many of its outlets will enter the first 500 shoppers in a sweepstakes to be held at 7 p.m. when the stores reopen.
Each year more stores have opened on Thanksgiving. As more open, more will open because retailers can’t let their competitors get an edge on them.
Then too, merchants know that if there’s one thing the 21st century American can’t resist it’s the lure of the bargain—even one day a year.
Ultimately Thanksgiving will become a holiday something like Halloween. Or maybe April First--All Fools Day.
----Gus Gribbin
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