Longstanding Traditions and Trends Surrounding the Thanksgiving Holiday and Black Friday

Since its inception, Thanksgiving continues to be a widely celebrated holiday. With the holiday spirit spreading into the Christmas season, family time and shopping trips tend to be a prominent activity across America. While Thanksgiving traditions vary from family to family, it is typically a time for loved ones to gather and celebrate what they are thankful for. This includes indulging in a delicious traditional turkey dinner, and is a time of reflection and thanksgiving, shared with friends and family.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that is celebrated by people of a variety of beliefs and backgrounds. The family-oriented holiday is a time for giving thanks and celebrating family traditions.

Recent findings have shown that 61% of Americans choose to celebrate Thanksgiving at home with friends and family. In turn, this can result in an onset of shoppers to grocery stores, stocking up on turkey, trimmings and beverages necessary to entertain dinner guests. The extra shopping trip for Thanksgiving preparation is an appropriate lead up to the shopping-focused Black Friday.

Immediately following the relaxing Thanksgiving holiday is Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. So busy, in fact, that it has even started to top Boxing Day. Low prices and great promotions give Americans a head start on their holiday shopping – and provides retailers with something to celebrate.

Black Friday traditions have changed slightly over the years, thanks to the implementation of online shopping. Retailers offer sales and promotions both online and in stores. One of the many benefits to spending your Black Friday online is the immediate information you receive about the availability of the item you are vying for, as well as the lack of having to stand in long lines.

However, benefits of shopping in brick and mortar stores include the opportunity to redeem in-store only deals, and the immediate satisfaction you receive from being able to see the product in person and carry it out of the stores.

Though it follows a family-oriented holiday, Black Friday is quite different in nature. One day is spent celebrating what we are grateful for; the next is spent rushing out to the stores to shop. Whatever the traditions, both Thanksgiving and Black Friday are widely recognized. Trends observed by online surveys show that Black Friday participants are typically younger members of the population, with 29 percent of people between ages 16 and 29 shopping both online and in stores, and that people tend to shop less on Black Friday as they age.

Though they are very different holidays, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are both time-honored traditions and celebrated widely across America.