Singles Day strikes again.

As I said earlier (here)...

"So after importing "black Friday", "cyber Monday" (both sans thanksgiving), "halloween", (thank you we had our own St. Barbara - look here!), "the first look" in marriages, "bachelor parties" (all while keeping the regular party for the bride and groom), and so on - now we have... "Singles day". Basically Singles Day is the antidote for Valentine's Day. Meaning a day for single people to actually gift themselves something - as a stark reminder none is there to gift them anything (which is a depressing thought)."

So here's 2022 edition, 2023, and this year follows in tow. I guess the market is too stale and any excuse is a good excuse to sell.

No Halloween this year, the horror is real....

I don't care where you stand politically, this is an excellent ad.

I could get any other information about it apart from the fact that it is in Tunisia. Pity - no client or no organization behind it. But it is excellent, and again, I don't care where you stand politically.

Thankfully no more Black Friday

Sigh of relief. No more Black Friday in Lebanon. At least for this year.

Like other "traditions" or rituals imported from other cultures (the Halloween and St Barbara mix still astounds me), we bastardized everything. Black Friday came to Lebanon sans Thanksgiving. But with the full regalia of the discounts and the "opening of the festive season" (the earliest postings point to 2016 the last right after the crisis started in 2019). With the Lebanese cash strapped this year, with the advertising so exceptionally down (Independence Day was a good indicator) and with the whole mood of the land particularly morose, the Lebanese are - understandably - no longer trying to pretend. 

So how come I seem upbeat about it?

Well, I am not against rituals and traditions, far from it, and I often argued it is rituals that agglomerate communities rather than faith. But it would be nice not to import cultures and just shove them in the face without understanding where they come from. 

With open shops and shoppers who are buying too few and in between, with Lebanese people are driven to the edge, with cash too spare for most families and middle class being tested to the point of vanishing, perhaps - if you have faith - now is the time to delve into it, and if you enjoy rituals, to accommodate them to the size of this all out horrible year.