After a hearty Thanksgiving feast, I join my mother, my sister and a few cousins ​​around the coffee table. My mother asks for today's newspaper, so I get up to get it. I find it placed on the dresser. I return to the coffee table with the newspaper and my mother unveils Walmart's 40-page Black Friday ad. Our eyes widen with anticipation, eager to see what deals the store will have. Before the ad opens, my mother asks me to go onto the computer and print out a map of the local store showing where certain items will be located. I log into my computer, open Google Chrome, and type Walmart.com into the address bar. I click a button that says “local store map” which takes me to a page where I can enter my zip code. Bingo. I click on the link provided and a block map appears with the option to print at the top. I click the button and wait for the printer to spit out my card. I descend the stairs with the prize of my quest and reveal to my family what I came back with. Now we can watch the ad. Slowly, we flip through the pages, studying carefully to see if there is anything we want. After we identify the items we want, we scan the ad again to check what times the items will go on sale. Unlike the previous year, the very premiere of this Black Friday will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. This earlier start time dismays my family. My mother complains: “Companies are getting greedier and greedier every year. Next year they will probably start on Thanksgiving morning. And the following year, they will start on Halloween! » Even though the earlier start time seriously conflicted with some morals, we decided to attend the event anyway. Entering the Battle I'm heading to Walmart from home around 5pm...middle of the paper......waiting. Every year, Black Friday seems to start earlier and earlier. This year, Walmart's Black Friday started at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday encroaches on Thanksgiving and downplays the importance of the holiday. Additionally, Black Friday can essentially be considered a holiday in its own right. Works cited by Thomas, Jane Boyd and Cara Peters. “An exploratory investigation into Black Friday consumption rituals.” International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management 39.7 (2011): 522-537. Commercial source completed. Internet. December 4, 2013. Zillman, Claire. “How Black Friday Ate Thanksgiving and Destroyed Itself.” Fortune.Com (2013): 1. Comprehensive business source. Internet. December 9, 2013. “Thanksgiving.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, and Web. December 6, 2013. “Interview with an associate.” Personal interview. November 27. 2013.