Black Friday Holiday USA

[ShivaFan]

Namaste
Tomorrow is Black Friday in America. Black Friday is now an �official unofficial� holiday in America, in some ways usurping Thanksgiving Holiday which is an �official� holiday.

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is, in one way, a blemish on our society and an example of the materialism of Kali Yuga. It is the day after Thanksgiving in which stores and retailers all over America open their doors very early in the AM hours (some open at midnight, others 3AM or 5AM) and huge numbers of Americans stay up most of the night to flood these stores and retailers for �bargain deals� and �Black Friday sales� on everything from clothing to those desired electronic gadgets and computers and mobile devices, watches, shoes, cookware, home repair items, power tools, you name it. Huge queues and lines are formed, patrons holding clippings from �Black Friday Sale� items (that camera! The earrings! And so on) hoping the item is not wiped clean from the shelves.

The upside is, it is a celebration of sorts, almost a tradition now to get up (or never go to bed) and spend the entire AM hours and morning shopping like a banjee fool, sort of �blending into the events�, excitement in the air, even if you only go out and risk your life to get one stupid item just doing it seems to be rewarding for many. It saves money, besides, on �holiday gifts�. In most cases the buyer is buying for someone else, not themselves.

But it is dangerous, too. Risks in the mayhem.

The parking lots almost immediately become full with cars, pedestrians, bus and taxi traffic. Cars move about �lurking� and searching for an available parking spot. Idiots fight over such spots. And it is dark outside besides, there have been cases of being robbed by bad characters in the parking lots. You cannot leave items alone in the trunk, your car window may be broken and the trunk opened by bad characters. You could crash your car in the traffic and mayhem. You could fall down in a hole in the parking lot, or slip on rain water, trip over things, folks throw empty tea and coffee cups on the ground, there are dangers to women and children.

Outside the door of the store, long lines can form waiting for the doors to open. Some camp out from the day previous (literally, with a little tent and food), sometimes the lines can become unruly and people may try to �cut in line� causing fights.

The lines continue in the stores, people rush about to find the �correct line� for the item or items they are interested in, it may not be a situation where the item is on the normal store shelf and you may need to get in a queue to the �pharmacy� section to pick up the �electronic GPS device�. So there is confusion. Patrons find something they know another relative is shopping for, they move it from it�s shelf to some other shelf to �protect it� for later pick up by the relative. The store starts to become a mess, and store employees who are pressed by the crowds and work are rushing around trying to put things back in place.

There have been cases of stampedes in the past. Even violence.

But most people are behaved, many have a great time of it and met new friends who share interests (�oh, you want that expensive bird book, me too!�) and so on.

It all starts tomorrow in America.

So I want to suggest to any American Hindus, if you are going to participate in the �Black Friday� events tomorrow (I know you want to get Grandfather that nice jacket he has been deserving), you may consider:

* Visit a temple for the Darshan of Ganesh first.

* Pray to Ganesh to remove obstacles, to keep you and your family safe, and for success in your adventure.

And be safe! Any recommended prayers to Ganesh?

Om Namah Sivaya

[Arjuni]

Namast�,

I would hope that any Hindus participating in the sales tomorrow would not be shopping for "Christmas" gifts?

Black Friday is yucky, and I'm sad to say that it's invading Canada, with many businesses advertising Black (or "Red," for our flag) Friday sales for the first time that I can remember. I feel so sorry for the retail employees, who have to leave their family celebrations early to go deal with the mess, and for the people trying to eke out a good Christmas or birthday gift on a small budget, when they're swamped and overwhelmed by greedy, pushy people.

In my more cynical moods, I think there is no better summary of America than the presence of a "holiday" (= holy day) devoted to selling and buying things. It reminds me of an excerpt from a favourite novel, in which a new immigrant remembers her first walk around her American neighbourhood:

"I walked up this hill and then I saw a tall building. This was Old St. Mary's. Under the church sign, in handwritten Chinese characters, someone had added: 'A Chinese Ceremony to Save Ghosts from Spiritual Unrest 7 A.M. and 8:30 A.M.' I memorized this information in case the authorities asked me where I worshipped my religion. And then I saw another sign across the street. It was painted on the outside of a short building: 'Save Today for Tomorrow, at Bank of America.' And I thought to myself, This is where American people worship. See, even then I was not so dumb! Today the church is the same size, but where that short bank used to be, now there is a tall building, fifty stories high, where you and your husband-to-be work and look down on everybody."

To anyone in the mad rush tomorrow, stay safe, as ShivaFan has said...

[ShivaFan]

Namaste Indraneela

Actually, because of the bad economy it is expected the crowds for Black Friday will even be larger. I know that sounds like a contridiction, but it is the only chance for some to buy items which they could not normally afford to "splurge" on since the price for most of these desired items is one-third the normal price. I am not even sure how the stores can make a profit tomorrow other than the high volume of sales makes a difference and there are hopes it will attract return customers.

I also feel bad for the store employees, also keep in mind there are millions of Americans with no jobs, no employment right now also due to the bad economy and many were without jobs for 16 to 26 months or longer and are very happy to get these jobs in retail which they hope will continue after the sales. I am not sure if the "holiday hires" will turn into extended employment since I am predicting and preparing for a double dip recession and moving percentages of investments from stocks that are victims into bonds, but even bonds will probably not be a longterm safehaven after 2 years when the inflation kicks in due to national debt and borrowing. The almost 600 plus point drop in the market in the last week and half reflects the fiscal cliff and sell offs in the market. Eventually Canada is going to start to feel it too, there will be no oil pipeline heading South.

So as bad as Black Friday is, it does give many a chance to buy items wanted that they normally would not, and it does help the economy. Everything is impacted by the economy, including new temple projects, donations et all.

You are right about the word holiday. Today it does not mean Holy Day, it means "I don't have to go to work today". Like when we (in US) say "I'm going on a holiday to the beach in Santa Monica, we are staying at the Holiday Inn".

It has lost the connotation to Holy Day about the time of World War One in the early 1900s when some started to take boats and planes after the War to have a "holiday in London" or France.

There will be a lot of Hindus shopping tomorrow. Yes, it is all about buying and selling. But at least it isn't the buying and selling of the human market place (slaves) though that does happen in some places. Tomorrow, there will be many in US shopping, in some other places there are people seeking shelter, hiding from incoming rockets and scud missiles. Kali Yuga is in full force. The crowds in the malls, many will get sick from the cold, viruses, bacteria, or worse. And also, you never know when the next terror strike will come from.

So that is the sad side, but I always try to be, and actually am, happy. Because I love the Devas and Devi.

Smile at Ganesh tomorrow shoppers, He can smile back at you!

Om Namah Sivaya

[Believer]

Namaste,

Just to add a few more details,

Most chain stores are 'in the red', or are thought to be running at a loss for the calender year till the Thanksgiving day (the fourth Thursday in Nov). On the day after Thanksgiving (Friday), the traditional Xmas buying season starts with stores offering big sales to attract customers. The stores ring up big sales and turn to being 'in the black', i.e. making a profit. Hence the name black Friday. Anything wrong with commercial activity?

Black Friday is NOT a public holiday, as banks, post office, stock exchange, Govt. offices, and of course ALL stores are open for business. Most private companies do make Thanksgiving into a 4 day holiday - Thursday through Sunday.

In many areas, the 'black Friday' sales are starting as early as tonight (Thursday), and the stores will stay open all night. The disadvantaged/low income people have set up tents outside some stores and have been camping there since last Friday, to be among the first ones to enter the stores when they open for the 'black Friday' sales. The reason for this is that generally the stores sell the first 20 or so of certain brand TV sets or electronic game sets or some other 'high demand' items at deep discounts. To get their needed items at deeply discounted prices, people camp out in the designated waiting lines, by the side of the stores for 4-5 days.

While I am privileged enough to not partake in these events, please help me Lord to NOT look down upon the poor who must put themselves through this humiliation to meet their material needs, or to meet the demands of their traditional gift giving to their children.

Pranam.

PS, According to stats, this is the most heavily traveled weekend of the year for people traveling over 50 miles, as families try to get together over the Thanksgiving dinner. This fact led a TV talk show host to crack a joke, that people want their relatives to be close by, so long as they are at least 50 miles away.

[Sahasranama]

Americans are weird.

[Believer]

Namaste,

Americans are weird.

Now, now, don't start calling me names. I already have one.

Pranam.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Consumerism is great, isn't it? It makes for such a study of people. I don't buy in, (pardon the pun) personally, but love watching the misconceptions and traps others fall into. it makes for a study of attachment, greed, deception, and lots of other wonderful things.

First one, is very often you don't actually need the thing you bought. So Joe Consumer goes, "Hey man, This thing was $100 regular, and I got it for $30. Look at me, I saved $70."

But in reality, the company only spent $3 to produce the thing, so they made $27. So sales are really mostly just hype. Even when the seasonal discounts, and clearance sales come about, I seriously doubt the companies are losing money.

But contrary to Joe Consumer, Eastern Mind thinks ... "Do I really need this item?" and often the answer is a flat out , "No." The rational is, "I lived without it for 59 years. Surely a few more won't hurt."

So I think about 90% of the time there are solutions, and they lie within the head of the consumer. Yes indeed, as Believer says, there are times when a family really does benefit from it, but those times are rare.

I'm often reminded of my son and his stick. His Grandfather, my father gave him a stick to play with one summer on the farm. He slept with it, felt great loss when he lost it, hit things with it, carried it around, played hide it, and seek, poked holes in the dirt. It was an all-round wonderful toy for a whole summer, and it cost absolutely nothing.

Aum Namasivaya

[Webimpulse]

I do indeed hate Black Friday (there, I said it), but it's for more than the usual reasons people hate it. Yes, I hate the consumerism, the wanton greed, the people trampling each other to buy stuff, the violence, the degeneration of manners. Yes, I hate all that. But there are other reasons I hate Black Friday beyond those usual requirements.

I also hate Black Friday because of the accusations it brings up. "You Americans are greedy pigs." "You're consumer whores not worthy of the wealth you consume." "You're brainless leeches of the planet." Etc. Sure, they may all be justified, understandable, probably true as well...but I still take them personally.

Again, it's because of where I'm born, what I do and what I buy that I'm lumped in with the rest of the undesirables. Maybe I'm even guilty of some of the things other Americans are guilty for on Black Friday (but most certainly not the violence). But can't the detractors figure out some way other than vitriol to combat the worst effects of Black Friday? If anything, people heaping on tirades of accusations are probably making Black Friday worse.

I say that because of the addicting effect shopping has for so many of these people. Shopping is a way of stress relief for many of them. The thought of getting something new - it's a way to distract the mind from one's other troubles. And we do live in a troubled society where everyone suffers. I've said it before and I'll say it again: America is not the land of milk and honey that so many others from around the world say it is.

I honestly don't think heaping guilt upon these people's shoulders is going to suddenly make them stop shopping on Black Friday. If anything they'll buy more stuff to be more defiant. So what's the solution, then?

Personally, I think the solution is to present alternatives to wanton consumerism and shopping as ways to happiness. Perhaps instead of heaping on vitriol, these detractors can say "do something else instead!" Things like spending time with one's family, doing community service, stuff like that.

I know negativity is all the rage on Black Friday, but let's not let the negativity infect all of us sane, rational people, okay?

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way, but I just found a great Black Friday deal on all Murtis for offer from Shalin India (www.shalinstatues.com)

Shalin Ad:
Get Black Friday deals and save 10% on this item. Offer valid until November 23, 2012. �Here's how (restrictions apply)
Buy more save more. Get 5% discount when you order for more than $99, 10% on $199 or more and 15% on $499 or more. �Here's how (restrictions apply)

I am real tempted to bring the following Saraswati into my home, She is beautiful and I connected right away:





http://www.shalinstatues.com/Goddess...B0018NH614.htm

I also found out there is a Black Friday offering of a Ten Headed Mahakali in a bazaar store in Fremont California that I may visit to see Her.

Jai Saraswati Ma ki Jai!

Om Namah Sivaya

[yajvan]

hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~


namast�

There are many thoughts & ideas given in the above posts... sure, there is good and not so good that goes on during this day.
The good:

• Jobs are sustained, it supports the economy
• profits are made in return for goods offered - a service is offered.
• Many of the things bought are for giving to others - this is pleasant as gift giving ( to the deserving says the mahābhārata) is worthy of merit.
  

The not so good:

• cattle mentality - 'I must have, must get ' mind set is disruptive
• more collection of ~things~ that really will not settle one into peace; nālpe sukham asti or finite (alpa) things do not (na) contain happiness (suka).

The Reality of it all
data eka rāmā bhikāri sari duniyā- the giver is the one rāma, the world is a beggar.

No matter what is given , purchased, exchanged, etc. It was never really ours to begin with.

praṇām