Community Corner

The War on Thanksgiving?

A Facebook page called "Save Thanksgiving" argues that the holiday is under attack from a formidable opponent: "Stuffgetting."

Once upon a time, Thanksgiving Day was reserved solely for — Thanksgiving.

No more.

Last year was the first time that many retailers began Black Friday on Thanksgiving Day itself, and this year, with the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas a full week shorter, more stores will be open on turkey day, thankful for the dollars.

And that, of course, means a good number of people will miss some family time to ring up the masses at the registers and restock those shelves.
But that's not to say there's no backlash. A Michigan woman has pledged to fight what she calls a war on Thanksgiving by asking people to take a "No Shopping on Thanksgiving Day Pledge." There's even a Facebook page for it with 1,183 likes.

Here's a post from the FB page last month: "I was just reminded that Thanksgiving is under attack by its biggest opponent - Stuffgetting. Please join the fight and encourage others to send a strong message to retailers who cross this line."

Stuffgetting is so powerful that retailers are opening despite evidence that it doesn't cause people to buy more, just to change the date on which they buy.

According to USA Today,  "holiday retail sales a year ago were up about 3.5% from the year before, despite the longer shopping hours. In 2011, they were up 5.6% over 2010."

Still, this year retailers are going after Christmas shoppers harder and earlier than ever.

We want to know: What do you think of stores beginning the holiday mega-push on Thanksgiving Day? Will you take part? Or have you "liked" the "Save Thanksgiving" FB page? Tell us in comments below.

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