Today is Black Friday, which has become a symbol of the business side of this season of giving we call Christmas.
More precisely, Black Friday has been moved into Thanksgiving night, with many stores opening last night before many area residents had fully digested their turkey.
There has been some pushback about the Christmas shopping season colliding with Thanksgiving, but our reading is that businesses have a right to do business and customers will determine whether it's a good idea or not.
But the ultimate good idea is go give. Give to friends, family and neighbors and everyone important in your life this season. Give with small tokens and large surprises, whatever you can do.
The act and the thought will matter more than the material.
Yes, Christmas has become big business.
But it's only limited to just a business proposition if we allow to be.
How we go about the giving, the thought and heart and soul behind it, and the way we celebrate, matter more than the exchange with a cashier at a counter.
Christmas can be about material giving and still be special for the spiritual riches that come with giving.
It's more than Black Friday. It's more than the next four frantic weeks. It's a season we devote to giving, each in our own way, a season we celebrate the spirituality of our choice.
It's hard to find anything wrong with any of that.
