It will be a time for a shopping frenzy on Friday, Nov. 29, as customers at stores and online try to scoop up some Black Friday discounts.

At one time, not that many years ago, Black Friday, the day after the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, was a uniquely American trend. After a national day of gratitude, stores were packed with incredible deals and savings. The result was shopping chaos, with some customers waiting for hours before the stores opened. Once the doors were unlocked, there was a mad dash for the biggest discounts, which would sell out within minutes.

Meanwhile, Canadians quietly waited for Boxing Day — a day not observed as such in the United States — when merchants in this country held big sales and clearance prices.

Today, the Black Friday shopping craze is no longer unique to the United States. Canadian retailers have embraced similar discounts. There is Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday. Some businesses extend the sales and use the label of Cyber Week.

For much of November, there have been innumerable ads, flyers and emails promising spectacular discounts on and around the last Friday of the month. 

A few decades ago, some Canadians who lived close to U.S. cities would cross the border for Black Friday bargains. Then, Canadian retailers in those areas began offering similar discounts to keep shoppers at home. And eventually, the trend caught on across Canada.

Today, the concept of Black Friday has extended beyond Canada and has spread to Australia, Europe and beyond. These are places far from the United States. There is little risk of a customer from Belgium or Romania making a quick trip to the United States to pick up discounted toys or electronics.

The game-changer has been the development of online shopping.

A large retailer with a strong online presence will be able to offer deep discounts to customers from around the world. In response, brick-and-mortar retail stores around the world have responded by holding their own Black Friday sales. This is how a U.S. shopping phenomenon has become a global event.

There is an alternative to Black Friday — and it originated in Canada.

Each year, Buy Nothing Day is held on the same day as Black Friday. It’s a day for customers to buy nothing, and it was created in response to the shopping craze of Black Friday. The day was started as “a day for society to examine the issue of overconsumption.”

Buy Nothing Day was created by Canadian artist Ted Dawe and promoted by Adbusters, a Canadian magazine and nonprofit. In 1992, the first Buy Nothing Day was held in September, but since 1997, the date has been moved to coincide with Black Friday.

Whether one rushes to shopping centres or online shopping sites or chooses instead to observe Buy Nothing Day, the result is similar. The focus is on the shopping phenomena of the day.

A different solution would be to find another way to spend the day — one that does not put the focus on sales or shopping. This solution is within reach, as there are plenty of holiday-themed festivities in late November and early December.

Summerland has its Festival of Lights on the late afternoon and evening of Nov. 29, and other communities have similar events and activities. The result is an experience rather than a shopping opportunity. And the resulting mood and atmosphere will help to set the tone for the holiday season that follows.

Shopping and sales may happen around the same time, but the festivities and seasonal experiences are now separate from the commercial aspect of the season.

John Arendt is the editor of the Summerland Review.