This year, Black Friday ads began popping up in numerous locations right after Halloween. Some ads came even earlier than that. When you think of November,do you think of Thanksgiving or the so called ‘Black Friday’ holiday? Sadly, as the years go on, many people tend to blow the overall idea of Black Friday way out of proportion.

The term “Black Friday” originated from the gold stock market in 1869. When spectators failed to corner the gold market, the stock market collapsed and stocks fell drastically.

Nearly a century later, in the 1960s, police in Philadelphia brought back the term “Black Friday.” They were describing a major traffic jam caused by frantic shoppers getting ready for the upcoming holiday season, such as Christmas, one of the most hectic holidays for parents and shoppers.

Since then, Black Friday has changed in many ways. When you now look up “Black Friday” on any online search engine, like Google, discounts, deals and even some injuries, crises and criminal events are brought up.

But there’s something that we are forgetting. What about the family holiday that happens right before this deal-crazed day? Many people forget about Thanksgiving and, instead, focus on the presents they want to buy for Christmas. Many stores are now starting to open on the Thanksgiving evening because they realized they can draw large crowds into their stores by having discounted prices.

Many chain stores, including Walmart, Kmart and Target, will fall into the rush of Black Friday and open on Nov. 26 during Thanksgiving dinner. Many people will leave during dinner or cut dinner short just to get to the stores to start their shopping.

Many businesses in the country are realizing this sad fact and are now doing something to try to remind people of the joyous holiday we all know as Thanksgiving.

Other stores, including Costco, Marshalls and T.J. Maxx, are keeping doors closed until Friday morning to express that they are “family-friendly” and to honor the importance of family on the holiday of Thanksgiving.

No matter what time these stores open, there will be hundreds of people anxiously waiting outside store windows, ready to snatch the items on their list. Some will go to great lengths to get a present for Christmas. Over the past few years, there have been seven deaths and 98 injuries due to the chaos at stores. Many have been trampled, and others have been harmed due to these crazy sales everyone wants to jump on.

It’s true that Black Friday is a great day to get a jump-start on Christmas shopping, but people often forget the beloved family holiday that takes place the day before it. They are too focused on the future that they aren’t aware about what is currently going on around them. Some people are oblivious to how important family is. This Thanksgiving holiday, will you pick the sales or your family?