Here in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving around this time of year.

Most of us return home to visit family, catch up with old acquaintances, and eat far more food than we ever should.

However, there are quite a few of us here (and around the world) that also partake in an additional tradition: Black Friday.

It has led to some interesting and tragic news stories.

I’ve definitely noticed a relative downward trend in people’s interest in the event, and I have some ideas as to why that might be.

Black Friday deals used to be better and more exclusive, and the sales only ran for that day.

This offered a rare chance at some pretty great deals.

However, it also offered you a rare chance to watch a bunch of strangers get into fights while competing to score a flat screen TV.

It was certainly much more of a high-risk/high-reward situation.

I thought the sales were ridiculous because of that.

I didn’t want to have to get up early, wait in line in the freezing cold, and risk getting trampled (or shot, which actually happened at a Toys R’ Us) just to get a great deal.

I’d rather just wait and see what’s left over. Chances are pretty high that I didn’t actually need anything that was being put on sale, so I wasn’t concerned if I couldn’t get it that day.

However, as the years have gone by, corporations and companies managed to ruin Black Friday for themselves by starting the “deals” earlier and earlier every year, even sometimes weeks in advance.

I think I started getting Black Friday emails as early as November 1st this year, which Amazon called a “Countdown to Black Friday” as a very transparent way of saying “Why not start spending now?”

I think I started getting Black Friday emails as early as November 1st this year, which Amazon called a “Countdown to Black Friday” as a very transparent way of saying “Why not start spending now?”

I think this is making people do just that, or at least start looking for and purchasing their stuff earlier, which is leading to less and less turnout on Black Friday.

I don’t necessarily think this is a bad thing. Less of a chance for injuries might be considered an improvement for the event, but I think offering the deals so early also completely defeats the purpose of the “holiday.”

If the deals are running for a month leading up to it, then it’s not really a special day, is it?

It’s more of a special month.

Which is fine, but you may as well advertise it as such.

My other big beef with Black Friday is that the holiday influenced more and more retailers to start making people work Thanksgiving evening, which is just awful.

Thanksgiving is a national holiday and retail employees already put up with more than enough for a lifetime, so is it really too much to ask for one day where they can go home and enjoy time with their families?

Do they really need to go to work and be forced to break up fight after fight over some arbitrary piece of plastic and electronics?

I think we tend to forget that retail employees are people too and work one of the most berated positions in the country.

Just let them have one day before they have to go in and deal with people at their worst for the entire day.

In the end, I’m kind of glad that Black Friday is starting to lose some steam.

I can still get the occasional deal online or on Cyber Monday.

I don’t think we need to be focused on getting a bunch of unnecessary items.

Lets choose not to punch out someone’s grandma so we can save $5 on some knock-off purse.