Humanity Hallows Issue 4 Out Now!
Pick up your copy on campus or read online
By Andrew Deyes
Bonfire Night has been and gone along with the pumpkin carving of Halloween, and, as November sets in, the trees shedding their summer coats, we now hear the sound of fallen leaves crackling under our feet. The days are getting shorter as the nights set in and we are all now digging out our massive mugs for cups of cheery hot chocolate and booze. In the world of fashion and retail, however, the arrival of winter means only one thing. Shopping.
Retailers prepare for this time of the year months in advance. With the big boys of the high street releasing their much anticipated Christmas adverts, it means we have to make room in our homes for the snowmen and the multitude of advent calendars that fill our walls. In addition, the sales that used to be reserved for January now seems to start earlier and earlier as retailers catch onto a growing American trend of Black Friday which, this year, takes place on the 25th November! The likes of Amazon have started early and are already started offering bargain prices on electrical products to satisfy the hungry shoppers of the today.
However, the big words on retailers at the moment are ‘Boxing day’! Boxing day is seen every year as the day when savvy consumers hit the high street to grab a piece of the surplus stock left from the Christmas cheer, the day when retail staff hit planet earth with a bump as they have to work once more to satisfy the wallets of the high street.
Ian Lapworth, however, has recently started a petition to ban shops from opening on Boxing day and with over 160,000 signatures, he is not alone in his thoughts that Christmas should be a religious holiday. The sales have been a tradition on the British high street for as long as anyone can remember with people queuing up outside the likes of NEXT and Debenhams at 3am ready to grab a a cut price toaster. With the word ‘sale’ becoming the norm on the everyday shop window all through the year, Ian believes that we need to keep one day that is special, on which retail staff can enjoy the festivities along with their customers.
Retail workers are the unsung heroes of the high street as they deal with the good, the bad and the ugly whilst walking around the shop floors. Without them, Bricks and Mortar would not exist in the format it does today. One day is not much to ask and it seems certain that the British population of shop workers should be able to enjoy one day when spending time with family and friends comes above shopping.
Do you think shops should be open on Boxing day? Send your thoughts to: HumanityHallows.Editor@gmail.com
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