>>"[Thanksgiving] is a producers’ holiday. The lavish meal is a symbol of the fact that abundant consumption is the result and reward of production." - Ayn Rand
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>>While I agree with her, I'll add it's a chance to watch 3 NFL games and drink Guinness and fall asleep on the couch while snoring at record decibel levels :)
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>Have you noticed that Black Friday now starts on Thanksgiving day instead of the Friday after? I guess the day after Thanksgiving is cutting it too close for buying Christmas presents.
And the number of people saying they'll go out shopping on Thanksgiving day is down 10% according to a graph I saw.

Part of the 'problem' is that the holiday shopping season is 6 days shorter than usual due to T-day hitting on the last Thursday of November, instead of the next to last Thursday.