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Black Friday: Is it worth it?

Shoppers throng Brea Mall during Black Friday shopping on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013, in Brea, Calif. The U.S. holiday shopping season started even earlier this year, as more than a dozen major retailers opened on the Thanksgiving holiday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

If there's anything indicative of North Americans' lust for consumerism, it's Black Friday.

Long considered the official start of the holiday shopping season, the Friday after American Thanksgiving has become the biggest shopping day of the year in the U.S.

Eager shoppers have begun taking a pass on turkey and stuffing to start lining up outside retailers on Thanksgiving Day. Ah yes, if there's anything to be grateful for, it's rock-bottom prices on big-screen TVs or Xbox Ones. Their founding fathers would be so proud.

And with deluge of rabid bargain-seekers comes violence. It's become an annual tradition to record video of Wal-Mart shoppers wrestling and punching to get their hands on bargains. In Chicago, an accused shoplifter was shot. In California, a police officer suffered a broken wrist breaking up a fight.

But now Canadians can't condescendingly tut-tut our southern neighbours, because Canadian retailers are getting into the act, too. Thousands of eager shoppers braved chilling temperatures outside malls across Canada this morning to get a head-start on their Christmas shopping, as retailers have learned that in order to compete with Canadians flooding across the border for bargains, they need to offer similar blowout sales.

Retail experts believe almost half of all Canadians are expected to hit a big box electronics store or bargain retailer in search of deals today. Soon the same Wal-Mart videos we mock will be shot within Canadian stores.

So we ask you: Is Black Friday worth all the hassle?

Have your say in the comments area below.