Big Island Now Poll No. 37: Will you be among Black Friday shoppers on the Big Island this year?

Thanksgiving is this Thursday, which means Black Friday — the retail event of the year — is almost upon us.

Turkey Day, for some, is a prelude to bargain-hunting on Black Friday. They line up in the wee hours of the morning to be the first to enter their favorite big-box store.

Others are less inclined to pursue holiday deals in person. They’d prefer to shop from the comfort of their couch on Cyber Monday, make a donation on #GivingTuesday or simply not buy anything.

According to Brittanica, the term Black Friday was first used in 1951 to describe the Friday after Thanksgiving, when a magazine complained about retail employees calling in sick that day to extend their vacations.

Not long after, police officers in Philadelphia began grumbling about “Black Friday” as well, because the day often saw crowds of suburbanites coming to the city for holiday shopping.

Black Friday has since become synonymous with various misdeeds and danger.

A temporary worker was killed in a stampede at a Long Island Walmart in 2008. In 2011, a Los Angeles woman pepper-sprayed fellow shoppers attempting to grab Xbox video game consoles. (Her actions, police said at the time, did not appear to be in self-defense; the local fire department treated 10 people for exposure to the caustic compound.)

So tell us, will you be among Black Friday shoppers on the Big Island this year?