by Misbah Saba Malik
ISLAMABAD, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- As the Westerners celebrated the crazy shopping season marked by the "Black Friday" with astonishing discounts, Pakistanis also welcomed their sales season on the day, but discount here is much more popular than the term of "Black Friday."
Opposition in Pakistan's southern Sindh and eastern Punjab provinces on Friday protested against the use of term "Black Friday" in the country and asked the government to take steps to stop the celebration of the day nationwide.
In the West, "Black Friday" is an informal name for the day following Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday of November, which marks the beginning of formal shopping season for the forthcoming Christmas on Dec. 25.
Opposition believes that Pakistan is copying the West's idea of "Black Friday" and it should be stopped since Muslims consider Friday as a holy day and it is improper to term a holy day as "black."
High Courts in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad and Punjab's provincial capital of Lahore also moved to ban "Black Friday" and take action against those who celebrate it.
Talking to Xinhua, Muhammad Umar, area manager of a famous local lifestyle brand said that they held a meeting earlier this week to plan about the discounts on "Black Friday," but their bosses and area managers have unanimously agreed not to celebrate it for its controversy in the country.
Umar said that they will announce discounts a fortnight after the "Black Friday" so the customers will get benefit and the brand will not get into any controversy by celebrating the day.
Traditionally, "Black Friday" refers to shopkeepers' hopes that their red-inked account book could be written in black in the forthcoming year since red represents deficit, while black stands for profits. And another explanation is that for the shopkeepers, the Friday will be super busy and it is a pretty "dark day" for them in terms of work.
Qasim Ghauri, owner of a famous saloon in Islamabad, announced 50 percent discounts on all the services at the saloon. When asked about the controversy regarding the "Black Friday," Ghauri said that this day is purely related to commercial activities and it has nothing to do with the religious beliefs.
"I believe Friday is a holy day, and I pray on Friday like other days, but 'Black Friday' is just a commercial term and should not be lent any religious coloring as it remotely relates to religion.
The "Black Friday" was introduced in Pakistan in 2015 and propelled into the country's first billion-rupee sale in 2016. Having now established this international phenomenon as a staple of the commercial calendar in Pakistan, the time has come to give the event an identity of its own.
Some famous brands including the country's largest e-commerce company Daraz.pk changed the term "Black Friday" to "Big Friday." From the day's midnight, as Daraz starts the main sale, the biggest shopping event of the year shall from here-on be known as the BIG FRIDAY sale, according to the website's press statement.
Hangten Pakistan changed the name "Black Friday" into "Blessed Friday" with the message reading that "Fridays are never black! Enjoy blessed Friday sale up to 50 percent off from Nov. 21 till Dec. 3."
A famous local western wear brand, Outfitters, which celebrated "Black Friday" last year, changed the name into "White Friday" this year. Outfitters wrote on its website "Grab your wallet and start shopping for winters from Outfitters as it's back with WHITE FRIDAY."
However, like consumers worldwide, Pakistani buyers also pay more attention to discounts despite the controversial term. Some people told Xinhua that although the name of "Black Friday" should be changed, they want the practice should continue as they get benefits from the big discounts.
Some shoppers said that offering a sentimental response to such a purely cultural and commercial term is, in essence, a disservice to religion by widening the gap between religions and there should be no more such kind of controversy.
