2015 Black Friday Holiday Petition Asks U.S. Congress To Make Date A Paid National Holiday Like Thanksgiving

Those 2015 Black Friday ads may be quite tempting to the average American, but for many the biggest shopping day of the year is very difficult to enjoy because they are forced to work. In response, a petition made to U.S. Congress is asking for legislators to make a new Black Friday holiday just like Thanksgiving.

In a related report by the Inquisitr, most Americans hate attending Thanksgiving Day sales, but since many 2015 Black Friday doorbusters require standing in cold lines it’s become almost an obligation despite the fact that it takes away from family time. Walmart executives realized this was quite a problem so Walmart’s Black Friday deals, including most doorbusters, are available for purchase online for the first time ever.

The Thanksgiving Day invasion has many Americans unhappy with the continuing trend of starting Black Friday a day early. According to a Black Friday survey commissioned by FatWallet, the majority of Americans believe major retailers need to start following the example set by companies like REI, which refuses to open its doors for the Black Friday holiday specials.

• 42 percent said they do not like stores opening on Thanksgiving
• 26 percent said Black Friday sales start way too early
• 29 percent think there are so many sales now that it doesn’t matter
• 5 percent said they like to shop on Thanksgiving

These beliefs must inspire self-loathing in some, since many Americans still believe that waiting in line for the 2015 Black Friday doorbusters is a good strategy.

“Despite ever early Black Friday creep and some disdain for stores opening on Thanksgiving, consumers still expect the deepest savings during the main holiday weekend,” explained Brent Shelton of FatWallet. “They know their best opportunity to make smarter purchases happen when they can compare all the deals from all the Black Friday ads versus settling for what retailers offer in select early sales.”

“Despite 24 states already allowing their employees to take the Friday after Thanksgiving as a paid day off, the rest of the United States is forced to work on Black Friday,” explains the petition. “We feel that Black Friday should be a national holiday, along with Thanksgiving, to celebrate the American values of family, food and commerce.”

In support of their Black Friday petition, FatWallet notes that about one-third of Americans already go Black Friday shopping and spend about $59.1 billion. The idea has some precedence since 48 percent of the states already observe Black Friday 2015 as a paid day off.

Actually making Black Friday a holiday seems unlikely to occur based upon FatWallet’s own statistics. In a national poll, they found that only 39 percent of the responders believed Black Friday should be a national holiday. The idea was especially unpopular with senior citizens, with 74 percent of those over the age of 55 saying, “no way.” The age divide becomes more apparent since about half of the 25 to 34 age bracket agreed with the idea, while only 42 percent of the 18 to 24 age bracket said, “no.”

Out of those who said yes to the idea, the overwhelming majority seemed to be young parents and mothers.

“Millennials / young parents that don’t get Black Friday off would seem to benefit the most with this holiday,” explained Shelton. “It’s a chance to save money on daycare, and take advantage of buying things when they can afford them. Saving a couple hundred bucks without taking a vacation day is a big deal for those with tight budgets.”

The Black Friday holiday petition has quite a ways to go at this point. U.S. Congress will only receive the petition assuming it reaches 10,000 signatures, but it only has 17 supporters as of this writing.

[Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images]