It was the morning after Julia's first Thanksgiving the United States. The night before, she had huge dinner with her friend Elizabeth's family. Before roast turkey, sweet potatoes, and cranberry sauce, each at the table had to say something they grateful for. Julia appreciated that she was able participate in this holiday that recalls the Pilgrims' harvest after arriving from England a long time .

Julia's phone rang at four in the morning. was Elizabeth. Elizabeth invited Julia to go shopping her. "We are going to the stores so ?" Julia asked sleepily. Elizabeth explained that the day Thanksgiving in the United States was called Black . Stores, which held special sales, started very early. "'s the official start of the holiday shopping season," explained.

Julia and Elizabeth were outside the local center by five in the morning. Julia was to see that not only were all the open, but they were crowded. Elizabeth told Julia this was nothing. Some people camped outside the all night so that they could be among first to enter and get extra special deals "door busters". Many times these "door busters" were items at extremely reduced prices. Often only a number of these items are made available. Sometimes are only available to the first 100 people line.

Julia thought it sounded violent and wondered if people really broke down doors to get the store. "Sometimes there is a lot of ," Elizabeth explained. Some people have even been hurt, killed, because of physical fights over limited products. 5 a.m. though, the door busters were gone the cash registers had long lines. Many shoppers full shopping carts of presents they intended to away for Christmas, Hanukah, or Kwanza.