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Welcome to November

Posted on November 1, 2022

The month of November is chock full of holidays both secular and religious in nature. The month begins with All Saint’s Day, runs through Thanksgiving and then hurtles into the Black Friday shopping period.

All Saint’s Day (November 1)

The Christian holiday of All Saint’s Day honors and recognizes the more than 10,000 recognized saints of the Christian church, many of whom were martyrs. Pope Gregory IV established this holiday in 835 A.D. It is a Roman Catholic holy day of obligation.

All Saints Day was originally in May but was moved to November 1, to offset the Pagan holidays of Halloween (All Hallow’s Eve) and Dia De Los Muertos.

Dia de los Muertos (November 1-2) “The Day of the Dead” is two days spent in honor of the dead. The first day celebrates infants and children who have died. This is a group that is believed to have a special place in Heaven, and they are referred to as “Angelitos” or little angels. The second day is in honor of adults who have passed away.

Visiting the cemetery is a popular tradition meaning it is possible an employee may seek the day off to celebrate.

Veterans Day (November 11)

Veterans Day is a federal and Massachusetts holiday that honors all members of the Armed Forces who served this country. The holiday originally was called Armistice Day to mark the end of World War I and was first celebrated in 1921. In 1954, President Eisenhower changed it to Veterans Day, in honor of those who served and died from all wars.

In Massachusetts any business seeking to open before 1 p.m. must get permission from the local chief of police. Any retail business operating that day must pay employees premium pay of 1.1 times their regular hourly rate.

World Kindness Day (November 13)

World Kindness Day originated in Japan and spread around the world. The objective of this is to encourage us to be kind to others. Consider listening to Louis Armstrong singing what a wonderful world.

Thanksgiving Day (fourth Thursday of November, November 24, 2022)

Thanksgiving was first celebrated here in Massachusetts by the Pilgrims and native peoples in1621.

President George Washington proclaimed the first official Thanksgiving Day on October 3, 1789, declaring November 26, 1789, as Thanksgiving Day. President Abraham Lincoln changed it to the last Thursday in November. Then in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress made it a national holiday and set the date as the fourth Thursday in November.

Black Friday (Friday after Thanksgiving, November 25, 2022)

Black Friday historically marked the start of the pre-Christmas shopping season. Nowadays, many stores start even earlier, opening up late in the afternoon of Thanksgiving before the dinner dishes are washed and dried.

Traditionally, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. It is one of the two busiest shopping days of the year, the other being the day after Christmas.

There appear to be two competing narratives on the origin and name of this day.

  • In the financial accounting world, red signifies a loss, and black signifies a profit. For many retailers, the Christmas holiday sales season represents a significant portion of their annual sales and turns the losses into profits for the year.
  • Alternatively, the term originated in the 1960s in Philadelphia. On one Friday after Thanksgiving, the city streets and sidewalks were filled with Christmas shoppers and people heading to the Army-Navy football game. Local Philadelphia policemen, complaining about the congestion, called it “Black Friday”. In response, local department stores tried to brand the day as “Big Friday” but the effort failed. And the name Black Friday caught on.

Buy Nothing Day (the day after Thanksgiving, November 25, 2022)

This day is a protest against the excessive commercialism of this time of year. It was first celebrated in 1992.

Small Business Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 26, 2022)

The purpose of the day is to encourage people to patronize and support local retail businesses including locally owned restaurants, coffee shops, etc.

Small Business Saturday began in 2010 when American Express launched it as a marketing campaign to aid small business owners.

Cyber Monday (November 28, 2022)

Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving. Cyber Monday began in 2004, at a time when ecommerce was beginning to gain on bricks and mortar sales.

See you in December