Do Pol/Ams celebrate Black Friday and other American festivals?

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pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,415 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Edited by: Moderator Nov 27, 11, 16:01 #1
Did you attend the last Black Friday festival in US? It looks like big fun, warm, family holiday. If yes, what were your impressions? PS. Do Americans go to work on the day?

isthatu2Threads: 13 Posts: 5,225 Joined: Apr 3, 08 ♂	Nov 27, 11, 16:04 #2
Americans are stoopid...............they riot and loot but still pay for the goods.......... pawian: PS. Do Americans go to work on the day? I imagine the shop assistants do....

WroclawThreads: 77 Posts: 7,404 Joined: Apr 1, 06 ♂ [Moderator]	Nov 27, 11, 16:18 #3
isthatu2: I imagine the shop assistants do.... but wish they didn't have to.

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Edited by: Marynka11 Nov 27, 11, 16:19 #4

pawian:

Did you attend the last Black Friday festival in US? It looks like big fun, warm, family holiday.

That's the one day in the year, when Americans get the taste of how was it like to live in communistic Poland. You get up in the middle of the night, get into the line, but you have no idea what you will get buy at the end, and most of all, there will not be enough for everyone.

pawian:

PS. Do Americans go to work on the day?

No, most people have off, except of course for the retail.

pipThreads: 11 Posts: 1,293 Joined: Jul 4, 11 ♀	Nov 27, 11, 17:13 #5
and if you are lucky you don't get pepper sprayed.

ShortHairThugThreads: - Posts: 1,377 Joined: May 1, 09 ♂	Nov 27, 11, 17:27 #6
Marynka11: That's the one day in the year, when Americans get the taste of how was it like to live in communistic Poland. Actually that’s a practice drill for what the future holds for them so they better get used to it. Soon to come the practice drill for the more lazy types, those that stayed home stuffing themselves with leftovers; Cyber Monday and Encore Tuesday. LOL

♂

Edited by: pawian Nov 27, 11, 22:27 #7

isthatu2:

Americans are stoopid...............they riot and loot but still pay for the goods..........

But Brits also have their Harrods sales days.

Madness of the sales: Shoppers queue for hours in the middle of the night and the freezing cold... all in the hunt for bargains

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1341851/Elbows-ready-Now-Nex t-Harrods-John-Lewis-launch-sales-bargain-hunters-queue-night.html

mafketisThreads: 17 Posts: 1,880 Joined: Mar 31, 08 ♂	Nov 27, 11, 22:33 #8
This seems to be a relatively recent thing. My last US thanksgiving was almost 20 years ago, but I don't ever remember shopping the day after Thanksgiving when I still lived in the US or remember it being any kind of big thing. I'm pretty sure it's only turned into the festival of awful consumer violence and mayhem in the last few years.

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Edited by: pawian Nov 27, 11, 22:44 #9

mafketis:

This seems to be a relatively recent thing. My last US thanksgiving was almost 20 years ago, but I don't ever remember shopping the day after Thanksgiving when I still lived in the US or remember it being any kind of big thing.

I'm pretty sure it's only turned into the festival of awful consumer violence and mayhem in the last few years.

You can be right. When in NYC in early 1990s, I didn`t notice any Black Fridays.

Black Friday is not actually a holiday, but some non-retail employers give their employees the day off, increasing the number of potential shoppers. It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005,[1] although news reports, which at that time were inaccurate,[2] have described it as the busiest shopping day of the year for a much longer period of time.[3]
For many years, it was common for retailers to open at 6:00, but in the late 2000s, many had crept to 5:00 or even 4:00. This was taken to a new extreme in 2011, when several retailers (including Target, Kohls, Macy's, Best Buy, and Bealls) opened at midnight for the first time. An online petition with more than 200,000 virtual signatures is aimed at asking Target not to open so early.[6] Walmart opened at 10:00 pm on Thanksgiving and Toys 'R' Us at 9:00 pm. In 2010, Sears was open on Thanksgiving Day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28shopping%29

Whereas the 1996 film Jingle All the Way depicted a comedic dramatization of somewhat chaotic antics that people may go through in order to achieve their holiday shopping goals, recent years have seen a marked increase in extreme chaos resulting from people's desires to take advantage of Black Friday sales.
In 2006, a man in Roanoke, Virginia shopping at Best Buy was recorded on video assaulting another shopper.[16] Unruly Walmart shoppers at a store outside Columbus, Ohio, quickly flooded in the doors at opening, pinning several employees against stacks of merchandise.[17] Nine shoppers in a California mall were injured, including an elderly woman who had to be taken to the hospital, when the crowd rushed to grab gift certificates that had been released from the ceiling.[18]

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Edited by: PlasticPole Nov 27, 11, 22:53 #10

I boycotted Black Friday this year but went to the one last year. It was awful. People crammed into the electronics department at Target just to get a television that was on sale. They clogged the entire front of the store so no one could move. Logistics nightmare! I wanted to get a Casio keyboard but I couldn't see the display in the front of the store over all the t v people so I ended up wandering innocently into their territory looking for the keyboards. I found a few in the electronics department but couldn't get a cart through all the people and the keyboard was too bulky and heavy to carry. People were so rude too. They didn't understand that all I was trying to do was find one little keyboard and leave. I finally found them in the front after the crowd crammed into the electronics department. Would have been nice to have seen them when I first entered the store. Why can't Target have all the t v people go to the back of the store at a loading dock for their precious televisions and let everyone else shop in peace?

♂

Edited by: pawian Nov 27, 11, 22:54 #11

pip:

and if you are lucky you don't get pepper sprayed.

I tried to guess what you meant but now I know for sure:

On Black Friday 2011, a woman was reported[27] to have used pepper spray on fellow shoppers, causing minor injuries to at least 10 people who had been waiting hours for Black Friday savings. It was later reported that the incident caused 20 injuries. The incident started as people waited in line for the new Xbox 360. A witness said a woman with two children in tow became upset with the way people were pushing in line. The witness said she pulled out pepper spray and sprayed the other people in line. Another account stated: "The store had brought out a crate of discounted Xbox video game players, and a crowd had formed to wait for the unwrapping, when the woman began spraying people 'in order to get an advantage,' according to the police.[28] In an incident outside a Walmart store in San Leandro, California, one man was wounded after being shot following Black Friday shopping at about 1:45am.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28shopping%29

So it isn`t such a warm family holiday as I thought. :(:(::(:(:(

Ironside, how did you spend the day?

PlasticPoleThreads: 10 Posts: 5,432 Joined: May 28, 09 ♀	Nov 27, 11, 22:55 #12
It doesn't surprise me. People are at their absolute craziest and rude when they get in the store. In line they are pretty nice but when they get in the store, they will trample and stampede and cram until they totally clog and gridlock the area the special they are after is in.

beckskiThreads: 19 Posts: 2,148 Joined: May 15, 07 MEMBER ♀	Nov 28, 11, 02:01 #13
pawian: PS. Do Americans go to work on the day? I had the day off, compliments of Uncle Sam. pawian: Did you attend the last Black Friday festival in US? Nope, I was smart. Instead of spending money, I was out making money. I sold antiques at a flea market and did quite well indeed;) A sincere thanks PF, for putting up with me FIVE terrific years, muah!

PlasticPoleThreads: 10 Posts: 5,432 Joined: May 28, 09 ♀	Nov 28, 11, 02:18 #14
pawian: PS. Do Americans go to work on the day? Black Friday is not a federal or state holiday but the Thursday before, Thanksgiving, is.

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Nov 28, 11, 02:32 #15

pawian:

Did you attend the last Black Friday festival in US?

absolutely not!! Those people are nuts!!! The sales last from now till Christmas, you can find sales
anywhere, its not rocket science.

pawian:

It looks like big fun, warm, family holiday.

If yes, what were your impressions?

I stay home with my family, to many people get hurt , even this year on thanksgiving, they opened stores that
normallly were closed for the night so people could stay home and spend time with their family. I felt sorry for the
employees of these stores because I am sure the higher Managment was home with theirs enjoying a nice warm meal
and a wonderful time with family..

My Impression, I will not stop my family time to feed into the hype.. not worth it.

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