I am glad I experienced this American celebration of gratitude for life’s blessings, with my mentor family. At Thanksgiving, people get together with their families, eat turkey and watch football on television. On the basis of this admittedly limited experience I have drawn my personal conclusion that Thanksgiving is all about people and food.

However, for some people Thanksgiving is also about shopping. On Black Friday – as the day after Thanksgiving is known – major retailers offer big deals to consumers and advertise heavily in all media. It is a huge shopping day, perhaps the biggest of the entire year.

The Thanksgiving holiday – a day of giving thanks – seems to also have turned into a consumerist-shopping extravaganza. A lot of people are willing to hit the stores to be the first one in line in order to get the deals, right after they eat their turkey dinner and pumpkin pies.

Why is Black Friday so important for people? They enjoy getting together and feeling thankful, but then feel compelled to dash out of their house right after for Black Friday shopping.

Madison College student Dee Saunders said, “I loved the old Black Friday. Getting up early in the morning was fun. This year there was no time to enjoy Thanksgiving Day because the sales were staggered:  8 p.m., 9 p.m., 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. I went to Shopko at 8 p.m. and found no lines, and only about 40 people in there. Midnight at Old Navy, lines were horrendous. Took two hours to check out. Then, Office Depot at 5 a.m., with only 15 people in line. I don’t like the new times, but Black Friday is something I look forward to every year.”

People shop until they drop. TV channels report that as soon as the store doors open and Black Friday has officially begun, people all over the U.S. go crazy. They run into the store, sometimes trampling and hitting others, in an effort to be the first to get to a product on sale.

Even though over the past few years Black Friday has started earlier – on Thanksgiving night – that doesn’t seem to have encouraged consumers to be more controlled when shopping. Denver’s 9News Channel reported that a woman in a Los Angeles Wal-Mart used pepper spray to get through the crowd to purchase a video game.

Many people care about Black Friday, but some don’t. “Black Friday doesn’t mean a whole lot to me, but as long as tradition means less work and more fun, I’m cool with Thanskgiving traditions,” said Madison College student Michael Westervelt.

It’s not surprising at all that people like sales and low prices. “Black Friday is an opportunity to snatch all the stuff that I wanted for the cheapest prices of the year,” said Madison College student Kenny Soewondo. “It is very important, because I can save a lot of money.”

Black Friday is not for everyone. Although the event is the day after Thanksgiving, it should not be the focus of this traditional holiday. Staying home and spending the night comfortably with family is far more enjoyable.