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READING:

One of the biggest shopping days of the year has brought out millions of bargain hunters across the world. The day is called Black Friday. Real and online stores offer discounts of up to 70 per cent on thousands of items. It is traditionally a big shopping day in the USA, but four years ago it crossed the Atlantic and is now huge in the U.K. It has become so popular in Britain that police had to be called to four supermarkets just after midnight on Friday (the bargains went on sale at one minute past midnight). Police were worried about shoppers getting crushed in the crowds. A police spokesman said: "Officers have worked with store staff to ensure that sale-goers were able to enter and exit the stores safely."

While shoppers in the U.K. were happy to head to the shops, many store workers in the USA were angry. Many stores decided to start Black Friday a day early, which was on the US celebration of Thanksgiving. Store employees and shoppers thought it was wrong for stores to ask employees to work on Thanksgiving, which is traditionally a time for people to spend with their family. A 'Boycott Black Thursday' Facebook page has more than 114,000 likes. Many big stores, such as Costco and IKEA, did not open. CNN reports that there are over 60 petitions on the website Change.org trying to get stores and customers to change Black Friday. They want a bigger focus on family instead of profits.

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