Exam for Thursday
Thanksgiving Day, which is always the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, is a week from today (today is Nov. 15, 2012; Thanksgiving Day is Nov. 22 this year). The day after Thanksgiving Day is called “Black Friday” in the business world. “Black Friday” is the unofficial beginning of the Christmas and Hanukkah shopping season. The word “black” in “Black Friday” is an accounting term meaning “profit.” Businesses that have been operating “in the red” prior to Thanksgiving Day will hopefully be “in the black” as a result of all the shopping and buying that people do during the holiday (Christmas and Hanukkah) season.
Until about ten years ago, stores would open on Black Friday at their usual time (9:00 am or whenever). There would be a long line of people waiting to get in, as most people have the day off on Black Friday and want to begin their Christmas shopping or Hanukkah shopping that day or soon thereafter. Beginning about ten years ago, retail stores began to open earlier and earlier on Black Friday in order to gain an advantage over competitors who opened at 9:00 am. Stores began opening at 6:00 am on Black Friday, then, a few years later, would open at 4:00 am on Black Friday. Some began opening at midnight (12:01 am) on Black Friday.
The retail chain Target Stores announced that this year (2012) their stores will open at 9:00 pm on Thanksgiving Day (Thurs., Nov 22). Their stores will be closed on Thanksgiving Day until9:00 pm, then will open at 9:00 pm. Some Target employees will be asked to report to the store a few hours before 9:00 pm to prepare the store for opening.
Many Target employees are opposed to working on Thanksgiving Day. They regard Thanksgiving Day as a family holiday which traditionally has been an entire day off for most American workers and is a legal holiday in most states. They have started a petition to