Basically, an American ‘dry run’ (or ‘forward reckie’) for Christmas (or ‘Happy Holidays’ as yanks like to call it).
Today is the annual day in the year when every american in-law drops in on their family to scoff a turkey that’s the size of an adult swan and remembers that glorious day in history when their ancestors showed the ‘Limeys’ where the door was.
Nowadays they say its to remember the ‘Injuns’ who showed the settlers how to live in their land. But that’s just a load of old cobblers because the injuns (well, those that weren’t shot by John Wayne) were run off their land and kept in ‘settlements’ (or ‘open prisons’ as we like to call them in Britain).
‘Thanksgiving Day’ is always followed in America by ‘Black Friday’.
This is the day when everyone has a day off work and all the shops are open from 4am to 9pm so that the yanks can traditionally purchase all of their Christmas shopping in just one day. Pure bloody madness… but that’s America for you!
Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic in Blighty, every run-down housing association tower block on Thanksgiving Day already has at least thirty flats with lit Christmas trees in its window or a giant inflatable snowman on its balcony.
This year it looks like Blighty’s ‘Black Friday’ is going to be next Wednesday (Nov 30th) when everyone has a day off work in protest over the change in pension provision.
Or in other words… a day off work to do Christmas shopping.
