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| Photo by Eric Ray (via Creative Commons) |
by Peggy Robin
Thursday was Thanksgiving which is followed, as we all know,
by Black Friday. Today, Saturday, is Small Business Saturday. Monday is Cyber
Monday. Tuesday is Giving Tuesday. That leaves Sunday, which lacks a special
name. But it seems to cry out for its own distinctive title. So I turned to the
Great All-Seeing “I” (the Internet) to find out if this problem has already
been taken on, and of course, it has. Here’s the number one site proposing
names for the Sunday after Thanksgiving:
And here’s the number two site:
Names have been proposed, but nothing has of yet become “sticky”
enough to turn into the generally accepted name for this day – but here are the main
suggestions:
* Sofa Sunday (the leading contender). This is the day you
are supposed to stay home, lounging comfortably on your sofa, while surfing the
internet to find the best deals for Cyber Monday.
* Sleep-in Sunday. The prescription for this version is to
sleep late and take the day off. Not on the sofa -- you can stay in your nice, warm bed. You’ll find a few versions of this Sunday at:
* Sunday of Rest. Unlike Sofa Sunday, or Sleep-in Sunday, Sunday
of Rest is not about lounging about all day -- it’s about the Christian concept of
the Sabbath on Sunday, with the idea being that this day will be a pause from
the hustle-and-bustle of shopping and entertaining and become a day to turn
yourself toward the religious meaning of the holidays. In a variant on this theme,
the day of rest and reflections is called “Reason for the Season” and it’s described
in an article by Christian blogger Steve Simms – see this link: https://stevesimms.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/a-name-for-the-sunday-after-thanksgiving-and-words-in-the-night/
* SABF, or Sunday After Black Friday. This name is for those
who view the Sunday after Thanksgiving as the last day of a 3-day sales event.
* Museum Store Sunday. It’s still all about shopping, but on
this day, you are supposed to head for the museum shop. (In cities other than
DC where museums typically charge an admission fee, Sunday may be a free or
reduced-fee day, and so it makes sense for the Sunday after Small Business
Saturday to become the museum store shopping day.) This USA Today article explains
it well:
* TV Sunday. It can be sports, or Christmas specials, or any
number of Christmas movies that run on the Hallmark channel or other family-fare channels. Look around and you'll find "Love Actually" playing on some channel or other on this day, joining "It’s a Wonderful Life," and "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and "Elf" and too many others to name from as
post-Thanksgiving holiday hits list.
If none of the above describes the activities that mark the
Sunday after Thanksgiving for you and your family, please feel free to send
suggestions!
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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland ParkListserv on Saturdays.
For Anglicans and other Brits, it’s Stir Up Sunday because of the first few words of the collect for the first Sunday in Advent. "Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people".
ReplyDeleteThis is a reminder to go home and make the Christmas pudding which has to be stored for a month or more before eating.
I think nowadays most Brits buy their puddings rather than make them but we enjoy making them from scratch. We’re traveling this weekend so we made three puddings last Sunday. We’re not British but we travel to England every year.
Love your column!