Black Friday: Who cares what day it is?

Black Friday means giving thanks for huge discounts on almost everything. Photo / AP

When was the last time you sat down for a Thanksgiving dinner?

A real Thanksgiving dinner, with a turkey, based on predominantly American and Canadian traditions?

Probably never, right?

So why did Hawke's Bay shoppers last Friday spend more than $7 million on items advertised in a Black Friday marketing campaign linked to Thanksgiving.

Black Friday is the public holiday the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, and is traditionally the busiest retail day of the year stateside, when bargain hunting Americans spend up large.

So why have Kiwis embraced Black Friday? It's because we don't care about Thanksgiving, it's the bargain we appreciate.

One major retailer in particular has a marketing strategy built around sales ... 20, 30 per cent off; 40, 50 even.

It's a strategy that must work for them, or they would discontinue the approach.

But on Black Friday, they offered shoppers something a little special - up to 70 per cent off.

And not just Friday - we had Black Saturday and Black Sunday as well. (After three blacks days in a row, no wonder we woke up to a grey Monday in Hawke's Bay.)

The marketing concept has attracted criticism in New Zealand for being another banal step toward the globalisation of American customs and traditions.

We are Kiwis - we have our own traditions to celebrate, thanks very much.

Do we? Christmas has become a secular celebration for millions around the world, while still retaining its religious meaning. But is it Kiwi? No.

Guy Fawkes is celebrated annually in New Zealand, although the inherent risk and danger associated with it in a hemisphere rapidly being dried out by climate change means its days are numbered. Guy Fawkes isn't "Kiwi".

Neither is Halloween, which has become popular because for one night of the year it makes begging cute.

Seriously, whoever devised Halloween did not intend for it to be celebrated by van loads of kids turning up in "flash" suburbs to plunder sweet bounty for the night.

We do have Waitangi Day, and Anzac Day but a respectful reverence for these holidays and celebrations seem to prevent them being exploited on the levels that the American or British traditions are.

Are we hypocrites, then? Or simply holding onto the values and traditions of our young country so we remain unique.

It's naive to think the latter. Nothing is sacred. We will one day have 70 per cent bargains on Waitangi Day and Anzac Day.

Because we don't care. It's the size of the bargain we crave. Who cares what day it is?