Illustration by Michael Uribes / The Collegian

The last Thursday of November is dedicated to a holiday where friends and family come together to give thanks. Although a lot of students are looking forward to spending time with family and friends while feasting on their favorite meals on Thanksgiving Day, they are preparing themselves for the biggest shopping day of the year””Black Friday.

Black Friday occurs the day after Thanksgiving each year and has been dubbed the biggest and busiest shopping day of the year. It isn’t an official holiday, but a lot of people still have the day off.

Black Friday gives many people an opportunity to start buying Christmas gifts at discounted prices. Doorbuster deals are often used to lure shoppers in early Friday, sometimes as early as midnight and 2 a.m. Most stores offer discounts as high as 50 percent off, allowing buyers to get 60-inch television sets and other electronics for half the price.

Construction management majors Lavell Ricks and Ruben Godoy said they are going to their hometowns of Madera and Merced for Thanksgiving Day, but they plan to wake up early Friday for a head start on shopping at Best Buy.

“I plan on getting a laptop,” Ricks said. “My current laptop is pretty much dead.

Ricks said he went to CompUSA at midnight a few years ago and ended up buying a computer for a good price.

“I want to go to Best Buy and get a good headset for my Droid X,” Godoy said. “I’ll probably go around 3:30 a.m.”

Best Buy isn’t the only store in the Fresno area that will have a sale Black Friday. Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Walgreens, OfficeMax and Target will be opening between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. Pets can benefit from Black Friday, too. Petsmart will open at 7 a.m. with items up to 50 percent off.

Although Thanksgiving is an official holiday, everyone doesn’t celebrate it.

Graduate student Maria Arroyo and Spanish majors Araceli Melena and Maria Gutierrez said they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving Day because they aren’t accustomed to the holiday since they grew up in Mexico.

“We take this day to make Mexican food,” Arroyo said.

Gutierrez said they prepare tacos, hot tamales and their favorite””pozole.

Arroyo, Melena and Gutierrez said they don’t participate in Black Friday shopping either because there are too many people and a lot of messes in the stores.

“This year, I feel like I don’t have much money to go shopping on Black Friday,” Arroyo said.

Black Friday draws in millions of people each year; creating crowds galore. If you plan on participating in Black Friday shopping, remember to be safe and have a great Thanksgiving.