Thanksgiving and Black Friday not just American anymore!
November 27, 2014 8:04 AM Subscribe
Retailers prepare as Black Friday goes global. And even the UK is getting more and more into the feel of a Thanksgiving meal. Wow, even Denmark is joining the fray too!
"If you are thinking of tackling the full Thanksgiving feast, it’s time to get organised. In fact, given the prep and number of side dishes (cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes) you might be better off bending the rules and serving your “Britsgiving” at the weekend instead of today."
Apart from the green-bean casserole, that's basically Christmas dinner, so I'll probably serve it on 25th December instead of today. It's not that British people are celebrating Thanksgiving, rather it's Americans living in Britain, as the article says. Which is lovely, but not the same thing.
(What's the Thanksgiving equivalent of "Bah, humbug?")
posted by billiebee at 8:16 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Apart from the green-bean casserole, that's basically Christmas dinner, so I'll probably serve it on 25th December instead of today. It's not that British people are celebrating Thanksgiving, rather it's Americans living in Britain, as the article says. Which is lovely, but not the same thing.
(What's the Thanksgiving equivalent of "Bah, humbug?")
posted by billiebee at 8:16 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Grateful for what, exactly?
Some people will jump on any passing vehicle on the assumption it's some sort of bandwagon.
posted by Grangousier at 8:18 AM on November 27, 2014
Some people will jump on any passing vehicle on the assumption it's some sort of bandwagon.
posted by Grangousier at 8:18 AM on November 27, 2014
It's not that British people are celebrating Thanksgiving, rather it's Americans living in Britain
1/6th of Britain is American? Plans of global domination going better than expected.
posted by stbalbach at 8:24 AM on November 27, 2014 [10 favorites]
1/6th of Britain is American? Plans of global domination going better than expected.
posted by stbalbach at 8:24 AM on November 27, 2014 [10 favorites]
Dear World:
On behalf of the United States, I apologize. Again.
Regards,
Fellini
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:25 AM on November 27, 2014 [9 favorites]
On behalf of the United States, I apologize. Again.
Regards,
Fellini
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:25 AM on November 27, 2014 [9 favorites]
I do find it sad that non-US countries participate in Black Friday (I was never a fan because why in the name of God would you get up that early to shop). It's driving my Canadian husband nuts when he hears the news stories about it on the CBC.
That said, I do miss seeing and being with my family today.
posted by Kitteh at 8:25 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
That said, I do miss seeing and being with my family today.
posted by Kitteh at 8:25 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
And the reason more retailers are doing a frankly spurious Black Friday push is that they're desperate to sell any shit at all to any sucker than happens along and the Christmas rush isn't doing it for them any more.
posted by Grangousier at 8:26 AM on November 27, 2014 [6 favorites]
posted by Grangousier at 8:26 AM on November 27, 2014 [6 favorites]
Giving thanks just seems so culturally alien. If we're going to have a British version can it be something like Don't Like To Complain But Day? Or Best Not Grumble Thursday?
posted by sobarel at 8:27 AM on November 27, 2014 [32 favorites]
posted by sobarel at 8:27 AM on November 27, 2014 [32 favorites]
Dear Canadian retailer,
You shouldn't be allowed to call your stupid little sale a Black Friday Sale.
BLACK FRIDAY BLOWOUT!!! 20% off all widgets!
Except new models, cannot be combined with other offer, limit of one widget per customer.
posted by ODiV at 8:27 AM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
You shouldn't be allowed to call your stupid little sale a Black Friday Sale.
BLACK FRIDAY BLOWOUT!!! 20% off all widgets!
Except new models, cannot be combined with other offer, limit of one widget per customer.
posted by ODiV at 8:27 AM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
Black Friday has got to be one of the shittiest inventions of the past 50 years. Celebrating buying toxic bullshit from corporations. Pathetic.
posted by Liquidwolf at 8:29 AM on November 27, 2014 [27 favorites]
posted by Liquidwolf at 8:29 AM on November 27, 2014 [27 favorites]
Look, Thanksgiving isn't all bad. I mean:
1) A Tribe Called Red just put out Burn Your Village to the Ground for the holiday, and it's amazing.
2) There is no 2.
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:32 AM on November 27, 2014 [18 favorites]
1) A Tribe Called Red just put out Burn Your Village to the Ground for the holiday, and it's amazing.
2) There is no 2.
posted by Lemurrhea at 8:32 AM on November 27, 2014 [18 favorites]
Apart from the green-bean casserole, that's basically Christmas dinner,
Ergo, the only really good thing about Christmas, so hells to the yes for two a year. That's why we do Canadian Thanksgiving here (Brit and American in Canada) because the missus wants a Thanksgiving of some sort and I want another Christmas dinner a year.
posted by Brockles at 8:33 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
Ergo, the only really good thing about Christmas, so hells to the yes for two a year. That's why we do Canadian Thanksgiving here (Brit and American in Canada) because the missus wants a Thanksgiving of some sort and I want another Christmas dinner a year.
posted by Brockles at 8:33 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
I think it's also only fair to warn the rest of the world, that, like kudzu, brick-and-mortar Black "Friday" has predictably already spread to include much of Thursday in the U.S. And of course, Black Friday has been on all week at some online retailers. I try to avoid buying anything, even basic necessities, during this hideous event since any random dollar I spend on, say, dishwashing liquid just encourages them.
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:35 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by FelliniBlank at 8:35 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
1/6th of Britain is American? Plans of global domination going better than expected.
I've been to a Thanksgiving in England. There was maybe three or four people from the US, and another ten or more from England and elsewhere.
England used to have a strong Harvest Festival tradition, which is where Thanksgiving really comes from, but I'm not sure what happened to it. It was coopted by the church and so most people don't take part anymore. As for Black Friday, that's just promoted by the shops for the sake of profits.
posted by Thing at 8:37 AM on November 27, 2014
I've been to a Thanksgiving in England. There was maybe three or four people from the US, and another ten or more from England and elsewhere.
England used to have a strong Harvest Festival tradition, which is where Thanksgiving really comes from, but I'm not sure what happened to it. It was coopted by the church and so most people don't take part anymore. As for Black Friday, that's just promoted by the shops for the sake of profits.
posted by Thing at 8:37 AM on November 27, 2014
1/6th of Britain is American?
The "one in six" estimate was by Waitrose who, you know, sell food and don't do population surveys but ok.
Ergo, the only really good thing about Christmas, so hells to the yes for two a year.
Good point well made
posted by billiebee at 8:38 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
The "one in six" estimate was by Waitrose who, you know, sell food and don't do population surveys but ok.
Ergo, the only really good thing about Christmas, so hells to the yes for two a year.
Good point well made
posted by billiebee at 8:38 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Black Friday has got to be one of the shittiest inventions of the past 50 years.
It's a weird cultural thing. I can see using the sales as a chance to pick up something you need anyway (personally I'm keeping an eye on laptop sales), but lining up in the middle of the night and then trampling each other in a mad rush to pile some random stuff in your cart makes no sense to me.
If other countries want to create some kind of syncretic holiday that borrows from the US Thanksgiving, more power to them. We've created weird secular versions of all kinds of real and invented holidays, so it's only fair that we return the favor. Personally I'd argue that there are far better American culinary traditions to be borrowing from if you really want a US-based holiday but there are worse, too; most Thanksgiving food is bland but satisfying crowd-pleaser food that is perfect for large groups, and it's mostly easy, though time consuming, to make.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:39 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's a weird cultural thing. I can see using the sales as a chance to pick up something you need anyway (personally I'm keeping an eye on laptop sales), but lining up in the middle of the night and then trampling each other in a mad rush to pile some random stuff in your cart makes no sense to me.
If other countries want to create some kind of syncretic holiday that borrows from the US Thanksgiving, more power to them. We've created weird secular versions of all kinds of real and invented holidays, so it's only fair that we return the favor. Personally I'd argue that there are far better American culinary traditions to be borrowing from if you really want a US-based holiday but there are worse, too; most Thanksgiving food is bland but satisfying crowd-pleaser food that is perfect for large groups, and it's mostly easy, though time consuming, to make.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:39 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I tried as an American expat in Canada to begin a US Thanksgiving or at least a dinner-oriented thing a few years ago as A) a way to alleviate my homesickness, and B) a way to make sure there were people around for my birthday (I have a birthday usually falls two days before, a day of, or day after Thanksgiving) and I think sharing food is a great thing to do.
It didn't work out so well, but mostly because non-Americans work on Thursdays.
posted by Kitteh at 8:41 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
It didn't work out so well, but mostly because non-Americans work on Thursdays.
posted by Kitteh at 8:41 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Black Friday has got to be one of the shittiest inventions of the past 50 years. Celebrating buying toxic bullshit from corporations.
It's not exactly a modern invention, but a new spin on an older phrase. Wikipedia takes the terminology back to 1961, to a phrase used by police officers who dealt with post-Thanksgiving traffic :
posted by filthy light thief at 8:41 AM on November 27, 2014
It's not exactly a modern invention, but a new spin on an older phrase. Wikipedia takes the terminology back to 1961, to a phrase used by police officers who dealt with post-Thanksgiving traffic :
For downtown merchants throughout the nation, the biggest shopping days normally are the two following Thanksgiving Day. Resulting traffic jams are an irksome problem to the police and, in Philadelphia, it became customary for officers to refer to the post-Thanksgiving days as Black Friday and Black Saturday. Hardly a stimulus for good business, the problem was discussed by the merchants with their Deputy City Representative, Abe S. Rosen, one of the country's most experienced municipal PR executives. He recommended adoption of a positive approach which would convert Black Friday and Black Saturday to Big Friday and Big Saturday.The rebranding failed, but the re-imagining worked, when by the 1980s merchants looked at the year to date as operating on a loss, and the Christmas season, starting with Black Friday, got their books out of the red and into the black.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:41 AM on November 27, 2014
It's a weird cultural thing. I can see using the sales as a chance to pick up something you need anyway (personally I'm keeping an eye on laptop sales), but lining up in the middle of the night and then trampling each other in a mad rush to pile some random stuff in your cart makes no sense to me.
Thankfully, my store dosen't go in for any of those crazy gimmicks, but it'll still be a motherfucker of a day tommorrow.
posted by jonmc at 8:41 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Thankfully, my store dosen't go in for any of those crazy gimmicks, but it'll still be a motherfucker of a day tommorrow.
posted by jonmc at 8:41 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Thanksgiving isn't American anymore because everything is going to be open on it in five years.
The erosion of the single secular national holiday in the United States should be cause for it to be taken back by legislation.
posted by Talez at 8:41 AM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
The erosion of the single secular national holiday in the United States should be cause for it to be taken back by legislation.
posted by Talez at 8:41 AM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
1/6th of Britain is American?
The Guardian story said that there were 200,000 Americans in Britain. That would be 1/30.
posted by octothorpe at 8:42 AM on November 27, 2014
The Guardian story said that there were 200,000 Americans in Britain. That would be 1/30.
posted by octothorpe at 8:42 AM on November 27, 2014
Grangousier--is your singular purpose today to be as grumpy/negative/sarcastic as possible? Grousing about the coming Holidays and Black Friday are somewhat understandable--but--"Grateful for what, exactly?" is a sentiment that I can assure you is not widely held in either of the continents under discussion. Are some people beyond being grateful for anything, yes. But hardly a widely shared or universal sentiment. Not going to look up Pew, WHO, or other data bases but I feel confident about this.
posted by rmhsinc at 8:43 AM on November 27, 2014
posted by rmhsinc at 8:43 AM on November 27, 2014
If the British choose to celebrate Thanksgiving in November, can we remove their Queen from our Canadian money, please?
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:43 AM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by bonobothegreat at 8:43 AM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
I think she's on Canadian money as the Queen of Canada, not as "their Queen".
posted by ODiV at 8:46 AM on November 27, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by ODiV at 8:46 AM on November 27, 2014 [5 favorites]
Call it whatever you want, 40% off winter coats bitchezzzzzzz
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:47 AM on November 27, 2014
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:47 AM on November 27, 2014
People having disagreements in this thread fulfills one of the requirements of a Traditional Thanksgiving. You guys are the best. Now pass the green bean casserole.
posted by Kitteh at 8:48 AM on November 27, 2014 [17 favorites]
posted by Kitteh at 8:48 AM on November 27, 2014 [17 favorites]
Surely this means the US is soon due to establish the nightmare holiday of Singles Day
The rate that wars make widows it's already a kind of singles day in the US.
posted by Talez at 8:56 AM on November 27, 2014
The rate that wars make widows it's already a kind of singles day in the US.
posted by Talez at 8:56 AM on November 27, 2014
The US has Thanksgiving on a date that is objectively wrong:
1) Thursday? What? Obviously a long weekend is superior.
2) It's too late in the year. It's already snowing in most places that get a real winter. Who wants to mess around with decorative gourds now?
3) Get your black friday nonsense out of here. Humph.
Sincerely,
Canada
posted by quaking fajita at 9:05 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
1) Thursday? What? Obviously a long weekend is superior.
2) It's too late in the year. It's already snowing in most places that get a real winter. Who wants to mess around with decorative gourds now?
3) Get your black friday nonsense out of here. Humph.
Sincerely,
Canada
posted by quaking fajita at 9:05 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
The Guardian story said that there were 200,000 Americans in Britain. That would be 1/30.
You're off by a factor of about 10.
posted by kersplunk at 9:06 AM on November 27, 2014 [6 favorites]
You're off by a factor of about 10.
posted by kersplunk at 9:06 AM on November 27, 2014 [6 favorites]
1) Thursday? What? Obviously a long weekend is superior.
If you aren't working in retail hell, then it is a long weekend as well as the Canadian one.
posted by Kitteh at 9:07 AM on November 27, 2014
If you aren't working in retail hell, then it is a long weekend as well as the Canadian one.
posted by Kitteh at 9:07 AM on November 27, 2014
Anyway, importing Thanksgiving into Britain and Ireland is slightly redundant because the functions of Thanksgiving (family, gluttony) in America are mostly taken up by Christmas, which is a bigger deal here. Also, the traditional January sales have moved closer and closer to Christmas so they now start the day after, so Black Friday already has an analogue in St. Stephen's Day/Boxing Day (delete as applicable) too.
posted by kersplunk at 9:11 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by kersplunk at 9:11 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Capitalism is like a reverse King Midas, turning everything it touches into shit.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 9:14 AM on November 27, 2014 [9 favorites]
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 9:14 AM on November 27, 2014 [9 favorites]
If you are thinking of tackling the full Thanksgiving feast, it’s time to get organised.
dated today, 11.05 EST, which would be 5.05 pm london time
*panics*
"i can't fit this bloody turkey in the microwave!!"
posted by pyramid termite at 9:15 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
dated today, 11.05 EST, which would be 5.05 pm london time
*panics*
"i can't fit this bloody turkey in the microwave!!"
posted by pyramid termite at 9:15 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
Dotsmom and I will be happily ignoring Black Friday, cozily shacked-up in a B&B celebrating our 34th.
You shoppers, knock yourselves out, k?
posted by Thorzdad at 9:16 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
You shoppers, knock yourselves out, k?
posted by Thorzdad at 9:16 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I do wonder why anyone would eat a turkey when there are still geese in the world. Not only are geese incomparably tastier, but they're also miserable malevolent sods unlike noble turkeys who have never once knocked me off my bike into a canal in front of a guffawing crowd.
posted by sobarel at 9:18 AM on November 27, 2014 [58 favorites]
posted by sobarel at 9:18 AM on November 27, 2014 [58 favorites]
everyone in three rivers goes to kalamazoo or maybe south bend on black friday, so i'll go to three rivers
posted by pyramid termite at 9:18 AM on November 27, 2014
posted by pyramid termite at 9:18 AM on November 27, 2014
heyho, thanks for the birthday wishes!
Also, before I was vegan, we made a goose one year because we were curious. Talk about the red meat of the poultry kingdom. I wanted to like it but I just didn't.
posted by Kitteh at 9:22 AM on November 27, 2014
Also, before I was vegan, we made a goose one year because we were curious. Talk about the red meat of the poultry kingdom. I wanted to like it but I just didn't.
posted by Kitteh at 9:22 AM on November 27, 2014
I welcome the Europeans because Thanksgiving needs more Krampus.
posted by condour75 at 9:23 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by condour75 at 9:23 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's killing me to see Black Friday slowly become a thing up here in Canada over the last three years or so.
posted by whittaker at 9:23 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by whittaker at 9:23 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
You guys just need to convince the Premier League to bump the Europa League off TV on Thursday and you'll have it.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 9:25 AM on November 27, 2014
posted by Huffy Puffy at 9:25 AM on November 27, 2014
Wikipedia takes the terminology back to 1961, to a phrase used by police officers who dealt with post-Thanksgiving traffic
It was around at least ten years earlier, as a term for the 'absentitis' of workers looking for a long weekend.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:28 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
It was around at least ten years earlier, as a term for the 'absentitis' of workers looking for a long weekend.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:28 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Of course Britain celebrates American Thanksgiving. Of course.
That's it. Effective immediately, Elizabeth II's portrait on Canadian currency shall be replaced by that of Sandy McTire.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:29 AM on November 27, 2014
That's it. Effective immediately, Elizabeth II's portrait on Canadian currency shall be replaced by that of Sandy McTire.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:29 AM on November 27, 2014
It's killing me to see Black Friday slowly become a thing up here in Canada over the last three years or so.
Quite. It's an extra bit of Hell for retail workers who already have to put up with BoxingDay Week.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:32 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Quite. It's an extra bit of Hell for retail workers who already have to put up with Boxing
posted by Sys Rq at 9:32 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
We all are much better off with retail promotions than eating turkey, dressing, mash potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner is an epicurean monstrosity. If we were eating better food there would be fewer arguments with our relatives.
posted by bukvich at 9:39 AM on November 27, 2014
posted by bukvich at 9:39 AM on November 27, 2014
Of course Britain celebrates American Thanksgiving. Of course.
I bought a really fancy bottle of maple syrup the other day if it's of any consolation.
posted by sobarel at 9:42 AM on November 27, 2014
I bought a really fancy bottle of maple syrup the other day if it's of any consolation.
posted by sobarel at 9:42 AM on November 27, 2014
I…don't really know how to express the queasiness I've been feeling this week about how the internet/social mediascape has been this perverse collision of BLACK FRIDAY and BLACK LIVES MATTER. It's like some sort of dark satirical absurdist alternative-present fiction that I've stepped into.
posted by LMGM at 9:43 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by LMGM at 9:43 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I fully support adding another day of no work, eating and drinking too much, and passing out early from post-meal exhaustion to the calendar for any country that wishes to join in.
Black Friday is a separate matter entirely and I don't acknowledge it.
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:49 AM on November 27, 2014
Black Friday is a separate matter entirely and I don't acknowledge it.
posted by downtohisturtles at 9:49 AM on November 27, 2014
The traditional Thanksgiving dinner is an epicurean monstrosity. If we were eating better food there would be fewer arguments with our relatives.
Kindly go wave that foodie flag elsewhere, sir. More turkey for the rest of us.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:53 AM on November 27, 2014 [13 favorites]
Kindly go wave that foodie flag elsewhere, sir. More turkey for the rest of us.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:53 AM on November 27, 2014 [13 favorites]
It was around at least ten years earlier, as a term for the 'absentitis' of workers looking for a long weekend.
Well, studies show that nearly 40% of so-called sick days take place on a Friday or a Monday. Can't let the steerage sorts get out of line.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:11 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Well, studies show that nearly 40% of so-called sick days take place on a Friday or a Monday. Can't let the steerage sorts get out of line.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:11 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
That's it. Effective immediately, Elizabeth II's portrait on Canadian currency shall be replaced by that of Sandy McTire.
Too late. Lizzie is already embedded in nearly indestructible plastic (unless you run it through the dryer) and Sandy has been retired.
posted by srboisvert at 10:14 AM on November 27, 2014
Too late. Lizzie is already embedded in nearly indestructible plastic (unless you run it through the dryer) and Sandy has been retired.
posted by srboisvert at 10:14 AM on November 27, 2014
I bet "Black Friday" sounds awesome in German.
posted by ODiV at 10:20 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ODiV at 10:20 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Schwartze Freitag?
posted by Thorzdad at 10:31 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 10:31 AM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
Just because Amazon et al would love nothing more than to get Black Friday going over here doesn't mean they will. Almost every comment I've heard about is basically FUCK OFF THIS IS NOT AMERICA
posted by GallonOfAlan at 10:37 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 10:37 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Canadian Black Friday is extra terrible because our retail prices just aren't as low as they are in the US. We love copying American traditions, though, so people will line up outside of Best Buy tonight to buy a TV marked down to about what it would cost if they bought it in Buffalo instead.
posted by thecjm at 10:53 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by thecjm at 10:53 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
It is strange and bewildering to see Black Friday in shop advertisements here in The Netherlands. First Halloween, now Thanksgiving, wonder what will be next? (I bet it'll be 4th of July - I really wonder how they're going to spin that outside of the USA...).
posted by Ms. Next at 10:56 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by Ms. Next at 10:56 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
If the US is going to export any holiday, I'd think Thanksgiving would be the least objectionable. I mean, besides the powerful Butterball (turkey company) and oceanspray (cranberry company) lobbies, no one is looking to get rich off of it. I have no comment on Black Friday, as I choose to ignore that it exists.
posted by geegollygosh at 11:00 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
posted by geegollygosh at 11:00 AM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Well, studies show that nearly 40% of so-called sick days take place on a Friday or a Monday.
Isn't that just what we'd expect under a null model anyway? There are only five weekdays, and 2/5 = 40%.
posted by dialetheia at 11:07 AM on November 27, 2014 [17 favorites]
Isn't that just what we'd expect under a null model anyway? There are only five weekdays, and 2/5 = 40%.
posted by dialetheia at 11:07 AM on November 27, 2014 [17 favorites]
Paypal Signs Deal to Make Black Friday & Cyber Monday a Reality in Africa
/consume the world!!! *insert maniacal laughter*
posted by infini at 11:07 AM on November 27, 2014
/consume the world!!! *insert maniacal laughter*
posted by infini at 11:07 AM on November 27, 2014
If the US is going to export any holiday, I'd think Thanksgiving would be the least objectionable.
Labor / Labour Day? Or Elvis' Birthday.
posted by sobarel at 11:08 AM on November 27, 2014
Labor / Labour Day? Or Elvis' Birthday.
posted by sobarel at 11:08 AM on November 27, 2014
The thanksgiving thing just really, really isn't true. I've hosted them here for my american friends, because they seem to get all wilty and sad if they don't have one, but the idea that it's got any sort of traction within the UK population is just, well, bollocks.
posted by cromagnon at 11:11 AM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
posted by cromagnon at 11:11 AM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
Exporting labour day doesn't really make sense, what with May Day and all.
posted by Lemurrhea at 11:22 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Lemurrhea at 11:22 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Wait, Canadians, why are we hating on Black Friday sales increasing in number here? It's a bunch of freaking sales! How is that a bad thing (except for people getting hurt in stampedes - that's terrible, sickening). It's letting me get some Christmas gifts cheaper and I'd hope, motivating people to do Christmas shopping earlier so that they can relax more in the days leading up to Christmas.
I'd like to see Boxing Day go away - the sight of people madly shopping for more the very day after they've received a bunch of gifts has always made me want to throw up.
posted by kitcat at 11:47 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I'd like to see Boxing Day go away - the sight of people madly shopping for more the very day after they've received a bunch of gifts has always made me want to throw up.
posted by kitcat at 11:47 AM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
It's not that British people are celebrating Thanksgiving, rather it's Americans living in Britain
We just got back from Thanksgiving dinner in a pub in Rotherhithe. There was us (New Zealanders), half a British indie rock band having a loud, bullshit conversation about Elbow vs. Coldplay and misogynistic song lyrics with an American singer songwriter, and a quartet of well brought up looking young college-aged American women who sat there speechless and shocked throughout much of the evening. Good pumpkin pie.
posted by Sonny Jim at 11:57 AM on November 27, 2014
Wait, Canadians, why are we hating on Black Friday sales increasing in number here? It's a bunch of freaking sales! How is that a bad thing (except for people getting hurt in stampedes - that's terrible, sickening). It's letting me get some Christmas gifts cheaper and I'd hope, motivating people to do Christmas shopping earlier so that they can relax more in the days leading up to Christmas.
I'd like to see Boxing Day go away - the sight of people madly shopping for more the very day after they've received a bunch of gifts has always made me want to throw up.
Have you considered the possibility that there might be more to Canada than just Capitalism and Christianity?
Boxing Week sales serve a practical purpose: To sell off the stock that didn't sell during the Christmas shopping season. Black Friday has no such practical purpose whatsoever except to serve as a green flag marking the beginning of the Spend Too Much Money On Shit Nobody Needs season.
Want to be more relaxed about Christmas shopping? Do less of it. Maybe do none of it. Maybe join the millions of Canadians who don't celebrate Christmas at all.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:00 PM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
I'd like to see Boxing Day go away - the sight of people madly shopping for more the very day after they've received a bunch of gifts has always made me want to throw up.
Have you considered the possibility that there might be more to Canada than just Capitalism and Christianity?
Boxing Week sales serve a practical purpose: To sell off the stock that didn't sell during the Christmas shopping season. Black Friday has no such practical purpose whatsoever except to serve as a green flag marking the beginning of the Spend Too Much Money On Shit Nobody Needs season.
Want to be more relaxed about Christmas shopping? Do less of it. Maybe do none of it. Maybe join the millions of Canadians who don't celebrate Christmas at all.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:00 PM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
We have day after Xmas sales south of the border; we just don't have the formal holiday.
This is my 6th thanksgiving alone; I was told several years ago that an open invitation didn't apply to me.
I was grateful to learn that there are some who won't "missing step" when boundaries aren't respected.
posted by brujita at 12:06 PM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
This is my 6th thanksgiving alone; I was told several years ago that an open invitation didn't apply to me.
I was grateful to learn that there are some who won't "missing step" when boundaries aren't respected.
posted by brujita at 12:06 PM on November 27, 2014 [2 favorites]
Here in Denmark, Black Friday is only an extra sales day (and an event at the American Embassy for posh people) I have not seen one single turkey anywhere. Let alone green-bean casserole, a foodstuff I will never ever understand.
We have an extra Christmas-dinner-day at st Martins day. I can never remember when it is, but it is always a good occasion to stock up on all the goose/duck fat you need for Christmas parties. Actually I am right now in this minute cooking confit from cheap duck legs and st Martins-day fat. Yeah
posted by mumimor at 12:15 PM on November 27, 2014
We have an extra Christmas-dinner-day at st Martins day. I can never remember when it is, but it is always a good occasion to stock up on all the goose/duck fat you need for Christmas parties. Actually I am right now in this minute cooking confit from cheap duck legs and st Martins-day fat. Yeah
posted by mumimor at 12:15 PM on November 27, 2014
Thanksgiving means pumpkin pie is REQUIRED. That is a good reason to adopt it.
posted by BinaryApe at 12:20 PM on November 27, 2014
posted by BinaryApe at 12:20 PM on November 27, 2014
I've hosted thanksgiving dinners four times in three foreign countries. Once in Mexico during a semester abroad, where my friend's host family insisted on eating everything with chilis because it was otherwise too bland for them. Twice in the UK for a variety of nationalities. Once here in Australia, just last weekend. The major amusement for me is making foreigners eat pumpkin pie and reconcile "but it's a vegetable! But it's a sweet pie! But with vegetables!" in their heads and stomachs. Otherwise, yes, largely Christmas dinner-ish but the Americans get to explain Why Thanksgiving (and the concept of a secular holiday that at least for me has always involved much larger family gatherings than Christmas always seems to surprise/interest people).
posted by olinerd at 12:38 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by olinerd at 12:38 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Have you considered the possibility that there might be more to Canada than just Capitalism and Christianity?
yes - there is Cold, too
posted by pyramid termite at 12:44 PM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
yes - there is Cold, too
posted by pyramid termite at 12:44 PM on November 27, 2014 [4 favorites]
And Coffee Crisp, don't forget that.
posted by quaking fajita at 12:46 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by quaking fajita at 12:46 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
My store in Canada is doing a Black Friday Sale. It makes sense for us because
1) as my boss put it "the advertising is done for us"
2) we have a lot of international students who shop here before they go home for the break
3) we are closed Boxing Day, the traditional sale day in Canada
4) before we started to do Black Friday, people were asking what we were putting on sale and when
So really, if people hadn't been asking and it didn't work for us, we wouldn't do it. We're not marking up and then marking down, regular store hours apply. For us its just another sale but our clients seem to love it. Same way the do the Monster Sale in June.
posted by right_then at 12:59 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
1) as my boss put it "the advertising is done for us"
2) we have a lot of international students who shop here before they go home for the break
3) we are closed Boxing Day, the traditional sale day in Canada
4) before we started to do Black Friday, people were asking what we were putting on sale and when
So really, if people hadn't been asking and it didn't work for us, we wouldn't do it. We're not marking up and then marking down, regular store hours apply. For us its just another sale but our clients seem to love it. Same way the do the Monster Sale in June.
posted by right_then at 12:59 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
kitcat:
Anecdata warning aside, the markdowns among non-clothing stuff are usually limited to high-visibility door-crashers or weird off-brand electronics. No hysteria is worth it.
posted by whittaker at 1:00 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Wait, Canadians, why are we hating on Black Friday sales increasing in number here? It's a bunch of freaking sales! How is that a bad thing?Everything Sys Rq said. Also, if you think Black Friday sales are popular among store chains because it decreases the amount spent at retail, I have a bridge to sell you (limit 5 per store).
Anecdata warning aside, the markdowns among non-clothing stuff are usually limited to high-visibility door-crashers or weird off-brand electronics. No hysteria is worth it.
posted by whittaker at 1:00 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Thanksgiving has long not been just American for a couple of centuries. Canadian retailers, it's argued, took it up to get some of the revenue that was going down south from Canadians who went to the States on Black Friday. It's no surprise really and it's no surprise that retailers around the world will pick up on any sort of marketing gimmick. It's standard practice.
posted by juiceCake at 1:05 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by juiceCake at 1:05 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Thanksgiving is a harvest holiday and as such is completely unobjectionable. Black Friday is a horrifying abomination, and if we export it, then we also need to export Buy Nothing Day. Maybe Small Business Saturday as well.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:18 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 1:18 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I feel about Boxing Day/Week the way it sounds like a lot of people feel about Black Friday.
I guess because it hasn't really taken hold yet in Canada, it doesn't have the same 'Let's all start shopping, ready...set...GO!' influence yet that it (apparently?) has in the US. Which, yeah, is gross. There's nothing wrong with wanting to purchase things when they are on sale vs. when they are not on sale. But when it becomes a tradition and a cultural institution instead of just a bunch of sales, I agree it's not good for society.
That said, that Boxing Day's motives are ostensibly more pure than Black Friday's doesn't make it any better culturally. Immediately after the greediest day of the year (Christmas), it tries to reignite the greed while luring people to buy things they are in even less of a position to afford after overspending at Christmas, putting them into debt and further enslaving them to the system.
posted by kitcat at 1:42 PM on November 27, 2014
I guess because it hasn't really taken hold yet in Canada, it doesn't have the same 'Let's all start shopping, ready...set...GO!' influence yet that it (apparently?) has in the US. Which, yeah, is gross. There's nothing wrong with wanting to purchase things when they are on sale vs. when they are not on sale. But when it becomes a tradition and a cultural institution instead of just a bunch of sales, I agree it's not good for society.
That said, that Boxing Day's motives are ostensibly more pure than Black Friday's doesn't make it any better culturally. Immediately after the greediest day of the year (Christmas), it tries to reignite the greed while luring people to buy things they are in even less of a position to afford after overspending at Christmas, putting them into debt and further enslaving them to the system.
posted by kitcat at 1:42 PM on November 27, 2014
I stuck a pizza in the oven and opened a bottle of wine. Tomorrow I'm going to go buy a microwave. Does this count, out here in the Arctic?
posted by infini at 2:01 PM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by infini at 2:01 PM on November 27, 2014 [3 favorites]
A Tribe Called Red just put out Burn Your Village to the Ground for the holiday, and it's amazing.
Oh man! Digging the hell out of this!
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:37 PM on November 27, 2014
Oh man! Digging the hell out of this!
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:37 PM on November 27, 2014
UK perspective: It's been a very weird experience to have Black Friday appear everywhere at once this year, like mushrooms after rain. Currys have implemented fake queues on their website - right now you have to wait an hour or so before you can access their site.
Very weird.
posted by Leon at 4:09 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Very weird.
posted by Leon at 4:09 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Hold the line Australia.
*scampers off to the Steam store*
posted by um at 4:54 PM on November 27, 2014
*scampers off to the Steam store*
posted by um at 4:54 PM on November 27, 2014
Well done Curry's, I've been trying to sort out a hob from you for a month, finally able to sort installation, able to be at home, etc and your fuck me around with this, is your rationale that it's such a dickhead move that you will get lots of free press? I hope that makes up for anyone who takes my attitude which is never to visit your website again.
posted by biffa at 5:13 PM on November 27, 2014
posted by biffa at 5:13 PM on November 27, 2014
we also need to export Buy Nothing Day
That's originally Canadian.
posted by jpe at 7:09 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
That's originally Canadian.
posted by jpe at 7:09 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
I received an email from amazon.co.uk about half an hour ago announcing 'Black Friday is here!'. No it's fucking not. This is England, we already have Boxing Day, we do not need another ridiculous frenzy of shopping on a day totally irrelevant to us.
That said, I love the idea of Thanksgiving and I would introduce it into my home and family if it wasn't very specifically a US holiday. It's secular, involves no presents and lots of food, and people give thanks. What's not to love? I'm thinking of introducing English Thanksgiving in February, because February in England truly sucks and needs brightening. But we'd have better food - I've been to several Thanksgiving dinners put on by US expats (here in England and in Australia) and good lord the food is bad. The giving of thanks, family and friends getting together, the feasting, and no presents I can really get behind, but jesus christ on a cracker the US Thanksgiving food I've experienced has been truly fucking awful (and not just because we don't have tinned pumpkin!). I've noticed the US Thanksgiving menu is becoming more like the English xmas menu (with brussels and all) and that progression is positive.
posted by goo at 7:31 PM on November 27, 2014
That said, I love the idea of Thanksgiving and I would introduce it into my home and family if it wasn't very specifically a US holiday. It's secular, involves no presents and lots of food, and people give thanks. What's not to love? I'm thinking of introducing English Thanksgiving in February, because February in England truly sucks and needs brightening. But we'd have better food - I've been to several Thanksgiving dinners put on by US expats (here in England and in Australia) and good lord the food is bad. The giving of thanks, family and friends getting together, the feasting, and no presents I can really get behind, but jesus christ on a cracker the US Thanksgiving food I've experienced has been truly fucking awful (and not just because we don't have tinned pumpkin!). I've noticed the US Thanksgiving menu is becoming more like the English xmas menu (with brussels and all) and that progression is positive.
posted by goo at 7:31 PM on November 27, 2014
Not enough things called "pudding" for you, eh?
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 8:26 PM on November 27, 2014
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 8:26 PM on November 27, 2014
weirdest birthday ever
posted by Kitteh at 8:32 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by Kitteh at 8:32 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
Next up: US to start celebrating Bank Holiday.
All the children go to bed early, ledgers tucked under their pillows, hoping that Father Banker will come during the night to bring an interest payment.
posted by LastOfHisKind at 8:56 PM on November 27, 2014 [8 favorites]
All the children go to bed early, ledgers tucked under their pillows, hoping that Father Banker will come during the night to bring an interest payment.
posted by LastOfHisKind at 8:56 PM on November 27, 2014 [8 favorites]
I've noticed the US Thanksgiving menu is becoming more like the English xmas menu (with brussels and all) and that progression is positive.
CURSE YOU JAMIE OLIVER!!!
posted by Sys Rq at 9:28 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
CURSE YOU JAMIE OLIVER!!!
posted by Sys Rq at 9:28 PM on November 27, 2014 [1 favorite]
British people are fighting over Polaroid TVs
Black Friday is officially a thing in the UK this year, and it’s turning normally mild-mannered Brits into maniacs. While retailers across the pond have attempted to woo Black Friday shoppers over the past few years, it has reached record levels of mayhem today as British people are at war over Polaroid TVs. Yes, Polaroid TVs, the brand that still exists because other manufacturers create devices and slap the Polaroid logo on them.posted by octothorpe at 5:35 AM on November 28, 2014
"i wish i'd never bought that polaroid tv - i keep having to shake it to get the picture back"
posted by pyramid termite at 6:37 AM on November 28, 2014 [5 favorites]
posted by pyramid termite at 6:37 AM on November 28, 2014 [5 favorites]
jonmc: Thankfully, my store dosen't go in for any of those crazy gimmicks, but it'll still be a motherfucker of a day tommorrow.
If I can't sucker punch a tourist to get the last $1 doorbuster copy of War & Peace, then I'm just going to stay home.
posted by dr_dank at 6:54 AM on November 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
If I can't sucker punch a tourist to get the last $1 doorbuster copy of War & Peace, then I'm just going to stay home.
posted by dr_dank at 6:54 AM on November 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
Boxing Day isn't a chance to go shopping to spend any cash or gift cards you got for Christmas? When I was a kid, we always went to the mall the day after Christmas for that reason.
posted by Anne Neville at 7:28 AM on November 28, 2014
posted by Anne Neville at 7:28 AM on November 28, 2014
I worked at Best Buy through three Black Fridays. The whole thing is so stupid and it brings out the worst in a lot of people. Do you really need to get into a fist-fight over the last $100 Daewoo TV? We also had this giant stack of some DVD player that was super cheap and I had only ever seen the brand on this one product that we only had for that one day as a door buster. I made note of how big the stack was before we sold them all (and sell every last one we did), wouldn't you know it, there was a stack that exact same size within a couple of weeks of Christmas from all of them that got returned. Only half had been opened and most of those were broken out of the box.
The thing we (actually my SO) figured out about Black Friday sales is that most of the door busters are total junk and the stuff that is actually a good value will go on sale for the same price on the weekend before Christmas and it will probably be easier to get one then. This pattern holds for Best Buy but I'd bet that it's true for most other retailers too.
The ever expanding hours of Black Friday infuriates me. It was stupid when I had to be at work at 6am to get ready for the doors to open at 7. This opening at 6pm on Thursday is total bullshit and I refuse to support it. Especially since I can almost always get the stuff I actually want online for the same price and not have to deal with the crowds.
posted by VTX at 11:31 AM on November 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
The thing we (actually my SO) figured out about Black Friday sales is that most of the door busters are total junk and the stuff that is actually a good value will go on sale for the same price on the weekend before Christmas and it will probably be easier to get one then. This pattern holds for Best Buy but I'd bet that it's true for most other retailers too.
The ever expanding hours of Black Friday infuriates me. It was stupid when I had to be at work at 6am to get ready for the doors to open at 7. This opening at 6pm on Thursday is total bullshit and I refuse to support it. Especially since I can almost always get the stuff I actually want online for the same price and not have to deal with the crowds.
posted by VTX at 11:31 AM on November 28, 2014 [4 favorites]
As a member of the 1%, I really enjoy seeing the proles duke it out over a $20 savings. Problem is, there's not enough serious violence even on YT. Can't we "monetize" this by having actual staged fights for the bargains? Like, some suburban mom vs. a poor college student just slamming each other for the right to buy a...I dunno, what do the proles want this year? Some doll? Some media player? Who cares as long as blood is drawn over the "goods". Yee-haw!
posted by telstar at 6:36 PM on November 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by telstar at 6:36 PM on November 28, 2014 [3 favorites]
Can't we "monetize" this by having actual staged fights for the bargains?
perhaps we should have a blowout sale on pitchforks and torches
posted by pyramid termite at 8:08 PM on November 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
perhaps we should have a blowout sale on pitchforks and torches
posted by pyramid termite at 8:08 PM on November 28, 2014 [2 favorites]
In the US, Black Friday weekend slows down as allure fades
Early discounting, more online shopping and a mixed economy meant fewer people shopped over Thanksgiving weekend, the National Retail Federation said Sunday.posted by the man of twists and turns at 7:21 PM on December 2, 2014
Overall, 133.7 million people shopped in stores and online over the four-day weekend, down 5.2 percent from last year, according to a survey of 4,631 people conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the trade group.
Total spending for the weekend is expected to fall 11 percent to $50.9 billion from an estimated $57.4 billion last year, the trade group estimated.
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posted by Mocata at 8:15 AM on November 27, 2014 [21 favorites]