A reader writes:
Easily answered: Life is boring, and people crave the sense of excitement of being "where the action is." Since people are going to shop for Christmas anyway, why not do it at the most exciting time?
Another writes:
The people waiting outside for hours, if not days, are waiting for the limited availability items that are super cheap. Think Best Buy’s 42" LED TV for $200. For somebody not making a lot of money, it may be worth it. Then again it could be like waiting for season hockey tickets when I was at college – waiting in line becomes a social event separate from the stated goal.
Update from a reader:
I understand that some people need to wait in line to get that $200 HD TV – assuming that a TV now is a "need" – because they cannot afford to pay something close to full price. But the news coverage I have seen of Black Friday paints a different picture – one of people grabbing a dozen Wiis or blenders to, I'm guessing, re-sell on EBay. I don't believe that the woman buying fifteen food processors is introducing everyone she knows and loves to the joys of the Cuisinart.
A friend commented yesterday that, given the commercial nature of Christmas, she has no problem with retail clerks and cashiers wishing shoppers "Happy Holidays," since the religious aspect of the season is so lacking. She has a point, I think.
For a historic look at Black Friday, Ben Zimmer traces its origins to "traffic-weary police officers in Philadelphia in the early 1960s."
The Dish 