Black Friday [November 23]

Black Friday: Shop ’til you drop!

Black Friday (also known as Blitz Day) is the day after Thanksgiving and marks the start of the traditional Christmas shopping season in the United States.

Many may wonder how the name came to be. The origin of Black Friday comes from the shift to profitability during the holiday season. Black Friday was when retailers went from being unprofitable, or “in the red,” to being profitable, or “in the black,” at a time when accounting records were kept by hand and red indicated loss and black profit. That’s a little holiday trivia for you!

Black Friday has some of, if not, the best deals and sales of the year. A lot of electronic stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City have unbelievable deals, though in very limited amounts. So it is not uncommon for people to camp out in line in the wee hours of the night to get the gadget they want. People will do almost anything to buy desired items at half-price or less!

Of course, there is a down-side to Black Friday. Consumers may be rushing to get the best deals but employees definitely have it rough.

Philip Louie and Tiffany Thompson who both worked at Nordstrom on Black Friday last year, complained about poor consumer attitudes. “People are just so rude and they forget that there are 24 hours in a day and think that everything is going to be gone within in an hour.” Louie explains.

Thompson also said that a handful of departments get reduced prices for a limited amount of items but not particularly a huge discount on everything. Despite this fact, people still rush to such department stores to get their hands on the best deals possible.

Thanksgiving Day [November 22]

Thanksgiving Day: Gobble gobble!

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth day of November. Historically, the significance of the holiday was to give thanks to God for all that was collected at the end of harvest season. But nowadays, people look at Thanksgiving as the time to be grateful for all we have in our lives. It is the day to be appreciative of how lucky we really are compared to those who aren’t as fortunate as us.

Thanksgiving is a traditional family holiday where everyone reunites at home to celebrate by having a feast that usually consists of a large roasted turkey with cranberry stuffing, mashed potatoes, bread and other scrumptious dishes.

Northwest Harvest is a hunger-relief agency based in Washington that holds food drives during the holiday season. The UW Business School is holding the 1st annual Foster Food Drive sponsored by the business fraternity, Alpha Kappa Psi, to benefit NW Harvest this year. By collecting nonperishable foods and cans, students and organizations on campus can help feed hungry families just in time for Thanksgiving.

Maria Kleiber, the philanthropy chair of Alpha Kappa Psi and coordinator of the food drive, hopes to collect at least 5,000 cans for the holiday season. “We are really trying to spread the holiday spirit throughout the business organizations. We actually want animosity between the clubs to compete for the spot of top donator.” The grand prize for donating the most cans is a Nintendo wii.

Hopefully, needy families throughout Washington will be able to enjoy a wonderful dinner this holiday season. And us, the more fortunate ones, should really be thankful for how lucky we are.

Veterans Day [November 11]

Veterans Day: Honoring our national heroes

Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring military veterans. It falls on November 11 which marks the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. The national holiday is dedicated to thanking and commemorating war veterans for their service and great contributions to the United States.

Similar to Columbus Day, there will be parades held around the country to observe this holiday. In fact, one of the largest Veterans Day parades is held in New York City. Every year, veteran groups from all over the world congregate in Madison Square Park to pay tribute to the national heroes.

Todd Crooks, president of the Seattle Veterans Museum (located on 2^nd Ave between Union and University Sts in downtown Seattle), informed me about a special event for commemorating Veterans Day this year.

On November 11, they will be having a second re-enactor portraying the famous Civil War soldier, Major Sullivan Ballou of the 2^nd Rhode Island volunteers. The event is open to the general public. In fact, in the press release for the event, Crooks encouraged Seattle media to help publicize their efforts through public service announcements and articles.

I was actually surprised to learn that there was a museum solely dedicated to the war veterans in Seattle as I did not realize how the magnitude of the holiday. It is very refreshing to see how appreciative and supportive Americans are for their soldiers and troops who dedicate their lives to the United States.

I would like to give thanks and wish all the veterans and current soldiers fighting in the ongoing war a happy and safe Veterans Day!

Election Day [November 6]

Election Day: To vote or not to vote?

Well, it isn’t quite time to vote for our next president yet but next week, some people will still be voting. Hopefully they’ll be casting their votes for public officials that they feel will help govern our city better.

Election Day, which occurs on the 6th of November this year, in the United States, is the day set for the selection of public officials by popular ballot. Interestingly enough, it is actually a legal holiday in several states, but unfortunately Washington isn’t one of them.

Since I’ve never been very much into politics or aware of the process of elections, I was curious about it. Russ Segner, candidate for Newcastle City Council, was able to provide me with more details from a prospective politician’s perspective.

“The right to vote has been secured for us at great cost by people we never knew who took great risks and showed great courage to create our democracy. We should make the best use of this power to influence our government and the policies we live under.” Segner explained about the importance of voting.

At this point, I don’t feel informed enough about specific candidates so I know I won’t be voting this year. “Uninformed voting is a very dangerous thing; it is the voice of the mob.” Segner also added.

Maybe a year from now, I will have gained enough knowledge about the presidential candidates so that I will be able to exercise my legal right to vote. Until then, I should start watching more political debates and news to better inform myself of the political situation.

 You can register to vote here.

Halloween [October 31]

Halloween: Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!

Aw yes, I remember the good old days growing up when everyone in my elementary school class would wear their costumes to school on Halloween… Oh, how times have changed!

It’s interesting to observe how the perception and concept of Halloween has evolved as people grow older. Specifically, the Halloween scene in college is definitely different from the innocent elementary ‘trick-or-treat‘ days.

Back in the day, it was a contest to see who could fill up their goody bags with the most candies or to see who had the scariest or most imaginative costume. As adults, it appears that it’s become a competition to see whose costume is the most scandalous or the sexiest.

Even one of the managers of Red Light, a vintage costume shop on the Ave, Drew Elliot joked, “now it seems that alcohol has replaced candy,” about how people associate Halloween with heavy partying in college.

Although it may seem that way for college students, not everyone has the intention to “party” on this spooky hallow-day. When asked about the best part of Halloween, Elliot elaborated on the excitement and surprises of seeing his co-workers’ costumes and just being able to hang out with close friends. One of the coolest costumes he’s seen in recent years was a life-sized Mariners bobble-head.

Who knows, both candy and alcohol will probably be consumed this Halloween but as long as everyone is safe and there isn’t pumpkin residue left on anyone’s porches, I think we’ll all be happy.

Columbus Day [October 12]

Columbus Day: Celebration of diversity or rememberance of genocide?

Columbus Day, commemorated on the second Monday of October, is a national holiday that celebrates the anniversary of Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas back in 1492.

To satiate my curiosity about the celebration of when Columbus sailed the ocean blue, I decided to interview a UW professor that I thought might give some insight and perspective on his thoughts of this so-called holiday.

Columbus Day, also known as ‘El Dia de la Raza’ which means ‘The Day of the Race’ in Spanish, is also celebrated in other parts of the world such as Central and South American countries.

Fortunately, I was able to contact an individual who had some background in Italian history. When asked about the opposition of Columbus Day, professor Giuseppe Leporace of the UW Division of French & Italian Studies, believes that “this holiday should be dropped by our calendar because it perpetuates values which are against many people who suffer and continue to suffer the injustice of the past.” He also felt that Columbus Day helps create awareness about Italy and its people but the wrong side of its rich and relevant culture.

Many view this holiday as a celebration of cultural diversity but others believe it to be an annual reminder of the negative remnants of history.

What do you think?