The beginning of the Christmas shopping season kicked off as usual on “Black Friday,” the unofficial holiday following Thanksgiving. Wal-Mart offered bargain basement deals on items from many departments including toys, clothes, and electronics. The frugal filled the store aisles to grab the heavily marked-down products and waited in line over an hour to make their purchases final.

The popular items of choice appeared to be flat-screen televisions. High definition TVs are pricey items normally, but with the special sales, they began at around $250 for a 32-inch set, depending on the brand.

For safety reasons, police officers and emergency services were on hand. Many cars parked along U.S. 119, unable to find sufficient parking in the lot.

The South Side Mall shops, such as Magic Mart and Game Stop as well as Big Lots in the Appalachian Plaza got in on the action, opening their doors to customers at 6 a.m.

The term “Black Friday” originally began in the 1960’s in Philadelphia, coined for the heavy traffic flow on that day. Though the term can have a negative meaning now, many retailers use it positively as a day the businesses go from “in the red” to “in the black”.