There's always a price to pay

Tradition is a big part of the holidays. Reese Witherspoon dresses her Oscar award in an elf outfit, Chuck Klosterman watches the Tommy Lee and Pam Anderson dvd on Christmas eve and Mariah Carey puts on a Santa Claus bikini, soaks in the hot tub and then... rolls in the snow. Traditions make the holidays fun, exciting and nostaligic. We don't wait for Christmas eve in my house, when Santa arrives at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the holiday season officially begins, as do the traditions.

One of the biggest traditions my mom whole heartedly believes in is black friday. Come rain, pnemonia, or credit card debt, we will be there come 4 a.m Friday morning. I do not have a good relationship with Black Friday. When I worked on my highschool newspaper, one of my first ever columns was about how evil Black Friday is. It sucks you in with promises of $5 blenders and $3 dvds, but there's a catch. Of course they deliver on these great deals but they also deliver hords and hords of "savvy", coupon starved shoppers. For some this is a fair trade. What's a little Walmart rioting when you end up with some extra holiday cash? It is not a fair trade for me. When it comes to Black Friday, I really feel like I am damaging my soul.

Named Black Friday not for the inky aura of the shopping experience, but for the fiscal idea of moving from the "red"- danger zone, to the "black"- safe zone. I don't think its a coincidence that black represents all that is evil when it comes to color symbolism, but that's just me.

Like every other year I was ripped out of my bed before sunrise. I don't brush my hair or wash my face, and you're lucky if I get a bra on. The radio stations have already started with the non-stop Christmas music, this means "Holly Jolly Christmas" slaps me in the face as we pull into the parkinglot. Is it really the best time of the year Johnny Mathis? By the looks of the crowd I would have to respectfully disagree. My mom usually yells "ba-hum-bug!" or "grinch" at me several times before we find a parking spot at least a mile from the entrance.

The cold sweat of claustrophobia has already started by the time we push throught the crowd. This year we didn't even make it in the store before heading back to the car. The irony of shopper-fights, sappy sweet Christmas tunes, and "door busters" was too much for me. I don't know if its the economy that is making people crazed, or the late start to the holiday season, but I just knew I wasn't coming out alive.

I'm still sticking to my homemade christmas theme this year, so I was just going for support anyway, but it was a little sad to know that one of our traditions may be dying out. My soul is still intact by my spirit took a dive. When we came home I went back to bed for a couple of hours before I was ripped from my covers once again. My mom just couldn't stand the idea of letting Black Friday die without a single purchase. We hit store number two and I was rewarded with cheap dvds and cheaper makeup. I'm always a little more willing to let my soul feel weird when I can buy "The Holiday" for $3.98.

What are your traditions?