Organizers around the country have planned public events, such as credit-card cutups, protests outside retailers and, in Minneapolis, a screening of the 2007 documentary "What Would Jesus Buy?"
For most Americans and Philadelphians, however, it's buy-buy-buy day.
Here are some of the locations:
* Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust malls. Cumberland Mall, Cherry Hill Mall, Exton Square Mall, the Gallery at Market East, Moorestown Mall, Plymouth Meeting Mall, Springfield Mall, Voorhees Town Center and Willow Grove Park. Holiday Hours: All malls are open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. today, but retailers' hours may vary, so check preit.com or the stores' Web sites for exact times.
PREIT Malls are enticing shoppers to spend early and often this season with a $25,000 sweepstakes promotion.
Shoppers receive one chocolate bar wrapped in a contest entry form for every 75 bucks spent at any of the nine malls, today through Dec. 13, said Debi Gilson, PREIT's East Region marketing director. (Even Gilson concedes that the campaign has shades of "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.") For those who brave the early hours, the PREIT malls will offer free breakfast snacks, such as coffee, water, bananas and cans of Red Bull.
Each mall's Web site will list promotions and retailer's hours.
* King of Prussia Mall. Holiday Hours: 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. today; 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. tomorrow; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Check kingofprussiamall.com for retailers' hours, which may vary. Both Sears and JC Penney will open at 4 a.m. today.
The King of Prussia Mall, "KOP" to some, is not messing around this shopping season: Free Wi-Fi service throughout the mall, valet services at five locations and a courtesy shuttle that stops throughout the mall.
