ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. The annual Thanksgiving food drive has begun and the donation forms have been handed out. You can donate either by filling out the form and being billed, or bring a check. All proceeds will be matched by the club, up to $3,000. All monies will be donated to four area food pantries.
2. Christmas is for Kids has begun. We have 15 kids. Please help by taking a child. All presents are due by Saturday 12/2 and can be dropped off on the first floor of the Emerald Square Mall at the location where Sears was.
Upcoming Events:
12/2 - Holiday Happenings Parade - It's free to attend, just pay for what you eat and drink. The parade starts at Brennan Middle School at 10:00am and ends at Highland Park, where all of the festivities will happen. Face painting, games, hay rides, and more.
12/13 - Rotary Holiday Party at the Sweet House. Invitations will go out Monday November 27th.
Fun Facts (about Black Friday) -
1. In the 1800's, the term Black Friday was used in reference to the stock market crashes. It was used for the first time on September 24, 1869 when James Fisk and Jay Gould were trying to corner the gold market on the NYSE. However, the government stepped in and flooded the market with gold, causing prices to fall and many investors to lose their fortunes.
2. The predecessor to Black Friday was the Santa Clause parades. The first "Santa Clause parade" was held on December 2, 1905 in Canada. When Santa appeared at the very end of the parade it was a signal to officially kick off the holiday season. American stores took the lead and began to have similar parades all across the US. In 1924, the premier Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade was held. The parade was run by employee's of Macy's and featured some of the animals from the zoo in Central Park.
3. Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for plumbers.
4. Holiday shoppers indirectly determined the date for Thanksgiving. From the mid 19th to the early 20th century, the US President would declare a day of giving thanks on the last Thursday in November. This changed in 1939 when the last Thursday was the last day of the month. Retailers were afraid that the holiday season would be shortened and therefore petitioned the president to declare the holiday be held one week earlier. In 1941, Congress created a joint resolution to clear things up. After that, Thanksgiving was always celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, which gave shoppers one extra week to shop before Christmas.
5. Black Friday was once called "Big Friday". According to a 1975 report from the NY Times, the term "Black Friday" is Philadelphia slang. This is because the police had become frustrated with the traffic congestion caused by shoppers on that day, and the retailers weren't happy to be associated with traffic and smog. So, in 1961, one newspaper tried to rename the day "Big Friday", but, as you already know this term didn't stick around for long. Though it had been popular in Philadelphia, "Black Friday" was not an official national term until the 1990's.
6. Black Friday wasn't officially claimed to be the busiest shopping day of the year until 2001. It was actually the Saturday before Christmas that beat it every year until 2001.
7. 12% of Black Friday shoppers are drunk. According to a survey conducted on behalf of the coupon site RetailMeNot, 12% of all Black Friday shoppers admit they hit the stores whilst under the influence of alcohol.
: Dan Blake - but did not pull the Queen of Hearts
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