Black Friday

For some reason the term "Black Friday" never made an impression on me till this year.  It is, of course, the Friday following Thanksgiving and it represents the unofficial start of Christmas shopping season.  I was intrigued with the name since it carries a heaviness that seems out of synch with the Christmas season.  Apparently the name is traced to Philadelphia in the mid 1960's when police were quoted pessimistically in the newspapers and referred to the traffic jams, crowds and confusion of the day after Thanksgiving as a dark and difficult day.  They may have been making an historical allusion to Black Tuesday (marking the stock market crash of 1929).  Some say the term describes the concept that businesses that have been running in the red all year, finally move into the "black" or profitable side as Christmas shoppers spend.  I suppose, in that sense, it might be also be considered "Green Friday", as cash flows freely (or maybe "Plastic Friday").   It is a polarizing kind of day as vast crowds compete for the most popular electronic gadgets and toys and another quieter crowd chooses to avoid the shopping scene and stay home to make turkey sandwiches.  I'm glad that Thanksgiving, itself, centers around family, food and football...and more importantly the giving of thanks to our wonderful Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  We may give HIm thanks, but we'll never out-give His love for us! Psalm 26:6b So I will go about Your altar, O LORD,  7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,          And tell of all Your wondrous works.  8 LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house,          And the place where Your glory dwells. blessings, with thanks Rob Smith