{"id":325,"date":"2006-11-25T14:43:41","date_gmt":"2006-11-25T18:43:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/shlep\/2006\/11\/25\/black-friday-agita-and-holiday-season-s"},"modified":"2006-11-28T10:52:16","modified_gmt":"2006-11-28T14:52:16","slug":"black-friday-agita-and-holiday-season-self-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/shlep\/2006\/11\/25\/black-friday-agita-and-holiday-season-self-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Friday agita and holiday season self-help"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"NoSanta\"\u00a0No Santa Symbol,<\/font><\/a> St. Nicholas Defense Action Committees, Netherlands<\/font><\/p>\n

Notice<\/em>:\u00a0 This time each year, the\u00a0Editor of this weblog suffers from HAH! [Holiday Agita<\/a> & Heartburn<\/em>], as well as BHS\u00a0[Bah Humbug Syndrome<\/em>], due to the excessive commercialization of Christmas and related holidays. See\u00a0f\/k\/a<\/em>,\u00a0St. Nicholas v. Santa Claus<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, Dec. 12, 2005.\u00a0\u00a0Nonetheless, in the true spirit of the Season, he offers this self-help advice to those caught up — intentionally or not — in the Christmas shopping frenzy and other schmoliday customs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the normal course of the English Language, the term Black Friday<\/em><\/strong><\/a> would refer to a Friday infamous for financial market disaster\u00a0(viz.<\/em> Sept. 24, 1869) or for other forms of social calamity.\u00a0 In the United States, as you surely know, it has also come to signify the Day After Thanksgiving.\u00a0 It is deemed either the “official” or “un<\/em>official” start of the Christmas-Holiday Shopping Season, and designated “Black” to refer to the day that retailers can (hopefully) stop recording losses in red ink in their account books, and can instead start to show profits\u00a0in black ink.\u00a0(see CBCNews<\/em>\/AP, “U.S. Shoppers Hit Stores on ‘Black Friday’<\/a>,” Nov. 24, 2006)<\/p>\n

Some shoppers are up early for Black Friday, or never go to bed, envigorated by the thrill of the chase\u00a0for bargains.\u00a0(e.g<\/em>., AZCentral.com<\/em>, “In Search of a Deal<\/a>,” Nov. 25, 2006)\u00a0Yet,\u00a0Black Friday can also be a day filled with stress\u00a0and confrontation (New York Times<\/em>, “Attention Holiday Shoppers: We Have Fisticuffs in Aisle 2<\/a>,” Nov. 25, 2006), and begin a season of true financial disaster for millions of American consumers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

orig<\/font><\/em><\/a>.<\/font>\u00a0\"JesusMoneyChangers\"\u00a0<\/p>\n

shlep<\/em>\u00a0may not be able to keep you from busting your budget, or mistaking massive gift-giving\u00a0for the manifestation of love and affection, but we hope to help you avoid getting scammed\u00a0or suffering\u00a0other shopping and holiday pitfalls, and to help you find solutions or legal remedies, if you’re victimized by the dishonest or unscrupulous.\u00a0 As the wise self-helper knows: the best way to “solve” a legal problem is to prevent it in the first place; and, prevention often means knowing your rights and\/or acting with common sense.\u00a0 The follow links and resources should assist you in those goals (if only by keeping you and your credit card occupied instead of shopping).<\/p>\n

\"NoloLogo\"\u00a01) As usual, Nolo.com<\/em> offers useful advice. Shoppers, shopowners, and drivers\u00a0might want to read:<\/p>\n