There has always been widespread controversy revolving around “Black Friday” due to how it encourages our materialistic nature to flourish. However, Black Friday has received an even more substantial amount of criticism this year for starting drastically earlier. It’s appalling how greed has grown to be such a crucial factor revolving around the holidays that are supposed to be about appreciating what you already have.

Commercialism diminishes the importance of both Thanksgiving and Christmas as a whole because it distracts us from the meaning behind both holidays. Black Friday in general is purely materialistic and shouldn’t be centered entirely on a holiday revolving around being grateful and appreciative. People rapidly rushing to stores rivals against what is actually significant. We should be encouraged to spend quality time with our loved ones- not to spend more money. Starting Black Friday at overwhelmingly early times is disgraceful to the employees who are being forced to disregard their families to fulfill their obligations at their job. A prominent example of a store further enriching our selfishness; that is oddly enough brought upon, primarily around Thanksgiving and Christmas, is Walmart. Walmart caused a significant uproar for starting Black Friday at 6 pm this Thanksgiving. A majority of people took it upon themselves to express their disgust through Facebook. The anger comes from a complete lack of morals.

There are “more than 1 million Walmart employees who (worked) on Thanksgiving this year,” according to the Huffington Post website. These employees don’t have the privilege to enjoy the company of their love ones; instead they have to work agonizing hours for the sake of money. Many shoppers feel an unwanted amount of pressure to have to rush through their dinners in order to get to the exceptional deals.

Thanksgiving is a remarkable holiday and should be the prime focus in November as opposed to Black Friday. Black Friday is arguably notable in that it offers amazing deals during a holiday were gifts become a necessity; however it shouldn’t take away from the meaning behind the holidays. Black Friday shouldn’t overwhelm its workers and consumers with its excessive need to make money.