Community Corner

Why They Won't Shop: 'A Day Reserved for Giving Thanks Turned into a Greedy Shopping Day'

Is Thanksgiving becoming just another excuse for stores to hold a big sale?

It’s a day traditionally reserved for giving thanks and spending time with friends and family. So when stores announce they are going to be open, many people simply say “no thanks.”

See what Marylanders had to say on Patch Facebook pages about not hitting the stores on Thanksgiving: Reasons for not shopping range from sleeping off a turkey coma to wanting to preserve a tradition.

“I plan on eating, drinking and watching the Ravens/Steelers game. Who has time to shop?” wrote Matt Cezar on Westminster Patch’s Facebook page.

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“I will not be shopping on Thanksgiving Day. People, take a stand for something, please!” wrote Tammy Woods Johnson on Perry Hall Patch’s Facebook page. “Thanksgiving should be about family and friends sharing food and stories of why they are thankful.”

“The Internet is open 24/7. I refuse to go to stores,” Rick Newton wrote on Annapolis Patch’s Facebook page.

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“No one should be shopping on Thanksgiving. Next year, it'll be Christmas for those ‘last minute’ shoppers,” wrote Chuck Duncan on Dundalk Patch’s Facebook page.

“One day Thanksgiving will no longer exist. A day reserved for giving thanks turned into a greedy shopping day,” wrote Donna Moore Graziano on Severna Park Patch’s Facebook page. “A beautiful holiday that all religions and non religious people can celebrate together should be cherished.”

“I won't be shopping on Thanksgiving—however, movie theaters have always been open on holidays and no one ever says anything about that,” wrote Sharon French Willner on Severna Park Patch’s Facebook page.

Barb Stearns Ridenour wrote on Columbia Patch’s Facebook page that she “will not give a penny of my holiday shopping budget to any stores that open on Thanksgiving.”

Terri Bowen wrote on Bel Air Patch’s Facebook page that it “takes the fun out of the anticipation of Black Friday.”

“I've never been a Black Friday shopper anyway, but I would never shop on Thanksgiving and support the fact that perhaps some people couldn't spend the day with their family,” wrote Christie Lane Craven on Odenton-Severn Patch’s Facebook page.

“What are we teaching our kids about Thanksgiving? Thankful that we can go shopping,” wrote Angie Kurtz on Bowie Patch’s Facebook page. “Thanksgiving should be about family and not about the economy.”

“I think it's ridiculous. People should be at home with their families on Thanksgiving and not at work or out shopping,” wrote Rick Mahar on Crofton Patch’s Facebook page.

“I hate when my husband (a corrections officer) has to work on the holidays,” James Debbie Levi wrote on Edgewater-Davidsonville Patch’s Facebook page. “Turning Thanksgiving into a shopping day is sad. It is meant for family.”

“I think it's so sad that corporate greed is destroying what should be a day for family and friends to be together. But, unless shoppers stay away—I can't see where things will change,” wrote Pat Eney Meyers on Dundalk Patch’s Facebook page.

Click here to read about people who don't think it's a big deal that stores will be open on Thanksgiving.

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