black friday

i have not been able to figure out why so many people insist that they need to be shopping the day after thanksgiving,black Friday. I'm glad i had to work Friday because i can not imagine what could be of such great importance that it would require me to get up at 3am and be in line in the cold in order to shop by 4am.no sale is worth my not being able to sleep in,especially after spending an entire week cleaning and cooking for the thanksgiving holiday the day before.
in my whole life time i think i have only gone to 2 black Fridays, back then the stores did not open until 8am.i decided not to do it again the aggravation of just trying to find a parking space made me realize no matter how much i saved it took the fun out of the holiday shopping experience.
Christmas has become way to commercialized its all about the money and the gifts its not about the fun things like decorating,cookie baking and just spending time with family and friends.
every year my holiday season becomes more and more crammed with parties and things to do after awhile i feel like I'm in a whirl wind and forget that this is Jesus special day.
when i was catholic i always enjoyed midnight mass.sitting in the dim light with a group of other parishioners listening to the choir sing "oh holy night" when they got to the part "rise fall on your knees oh hear the angles voices, oh night Divine,oh night when Christ was born" it would echo through this large church making you want to fall on your knees.that's what Christmas is all about thanking God for sending his only son into this unworthy world to die on a cross for our sins.
when ever i feel I'm starting to get over whelmed by the season i try to remember that song and the echo of it through St.Joseph church and it helps center me on why this season is upon us and why we are really celebrating it and you know what? its not about the great sales we got on black Friday the day after thanksgiving.