Black Friday is the start of the holiday shopping season.

It is an all-out assault on gift-giving that begins before the turkey is even cold. Actually, it often starts when the turkey is downright frozen as Black Friday deals start to be shared online weeks early and some stores give preferred members a day or two jump on the competition.

While Black Friday has become a post-Thanksgiving ritual, it is not alone. The retail holiday has spawned a litter of other days that follow it.

Small Business Saturday puts the focus on local shops over chains and big box stores. Cyber Monday is about online shopping. Giving Tuesday spotlights not the gifts we tie up with ribbons but the ones that come without strings — gifts to charity.

It is all part of a capitalist version of Advent, the four weeks of build-up in Christian churches’ calendars to Christmas. Advent is meant to focus the heart and soul on the coming holiday, one of the most important days for the faithful.

Black Friday and the days that follow it like obedient ducklings are the financial equivalent. They focus the attention of stores and consumers alike on money in preparation for the most secular aspect of Christmas — a bacchanal of presents.

It’s tempting to condemn this. How dare they corrupt both the gratitude of Thanksgiving and the miracle of Christmas?

But it is important to the everyday lives of millions of Americans. According to the National Retail Federation, about 20% of total retail sales are made during the last two months of the year. Without that, businesses fail, stores close and people lose jobs. The pandemic showed us that precarious balance can’t be underestimated.

Will I be participating in the frenzy? Well, I’m not diving headfirst into the Black Friday circus, camping out and brawling over a big-screen TV.

But I have picked up some member deals. I do already have a few things in an online shopping cart. I have plans to visit my favorite candle shop on Saturday. I’m giving where I can on Tuesday.

With Thanksgiving falling a bit early this year, I can get a few things wrapped and under the tree — which goes up on Saturday. It might make for a more relaxed holiday season and perhaps a bit more of the real “meaning of Christmas” thoughts by the time we hit Advent.

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