As Thanksgiving begins to approach, people aren’t concerned with the turkey and desserts. Many are ready to stand in the cold in front of a Toys R Us at 4 a.m. waiting to buy a new Nintendo 3DS for their children. This phenomenon is known as Black Friday.

Every year, hundreds of psychotic people flood department stores for deals that are virtually unbeatable. Televisions 40 percent off, laptops for $100, kitchen appliances “buy one, get one 50 percent off”.  But there’s a huge, unavoidable catch: fighting the crowds.

Sure, I’ve thought about going out and fighting the crowds every year, but as I begin to laspe into a tryptophan coma from turkey and sweets, I am in no way motivated to leave my house, let alone wake up at some obsecne hour to go fight parents for bargain-priced gifts. No thanks.

Not to mention, every year there is some freak accident that involves someone getting trampled to death, or old ladies getting in fist fights over a Cabbage Patch doll. This is supposed to be the season of giving, right? Not the season of strangling someone over the “latest and greatest.”

Instead of getting caught up in the Christmas rush and commercialism, people need to step back and see what’s really important; spending time with family, enjoying the season, de-stressing. Ideas seemingly unheard of in this day and age.

As I close, I have one wish; remember what Christmas and the holidays are really about.