Community Corner

YOUR TURN: Is Black Friday Overshadowing Thanksgiving?

Some big box stores are now moving up their midnight hours to 8 or 9 p.m. on Thanksgiving in other parts of the country. Thanks to Massachusetts Blue Laws, that can't happen here. But should it?

First, it was more of an unspoken rule. Get your shopping done early, get it done on your day off after Thanksgiving.

Then, stores responded in offering special deals to attract customers to their stores.

That's when it started getting a little bit crazy. Many of the big box stores such as Target, Walmart and Sears have pushed their midnight openings even earlier, onto Thanksgiving Day itself in some parts of the country.

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Critics say Thanksgiving Day openings prevent employees from spending the holiday with their families, and call into question the true meaning of the holidays.

Massachusetts Blue Laws prevent stores from opening on Thanksgiving, but many will be opening at midnight or at 1 a.m. on Friday. 

Find out what's happening in South Endwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

What do you think? Have we become a culture so obsessed with finding deals that we're willing to go to such extreme lengths, even at the expense of others? Or is Black Friday your most-looked-forward-to holiday shopping event of the year? Is Black Friday overshadowing Thanksgiving?


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