NATCHEZ — Local shoppers didn’t forget the true meaning of Black Friday, the unofficial national holiday dedicated to buying, spending and bargain hunting.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is traditionally known as Black Friday because it was the day when stores began to turn a profit, or go “in the black.”

Though that may no longer be the case, stores still offer deals to entice bargain hunters through their doors to begin the Christmas shopping season as early as possible.

By 4:30 a.m., the Natchez Mall parking lot was full, and at Walmart in Vidalia — which opened at 5 a.m. — customers formed a line that stretched from the doors to the back of the parking lot. Walmart employees in Natchez began preparing displays of merchandise overnight and stood guard over them until 5 a.m. Friday.

At Stage in Natchez, Manager Blaine Davis said he was unsurprised to find a line waiting at the door when they opened.

“It has been steady since then,” he said. “There hasn’t been a dead period.”

Some analysts had projected that the Black Friday turnout might not be as good as it has been in the past, but Davis said that wasn’t the case.

“There has been no difference in traffic,” he said.

Taking a break from shopping, Shelly Bonin said she didn’t go to the mall with any particular sale item in mind but didn’t mind the chance to take advantage of the sales.

“My friend and I just came to look around,” she said. “I found a few things.”

After leaving the early-morning bargain scavenging, many shoppers made their way into downtown Natchez, where shop owners advertised their own post-Thanksgiving sales.

There was some concern that with the current national economy, shoppers might not make their way downtown, but that wasn’t the case, said Tammy Shields, a clerk at Martha’s Vineyard.

“It has been fairly brisk,” Shields said.

Friday’s temperamental weather was also something Shields was concerned about, but it too proved not to keep shoppers away.

“When it rains, it always slows down, but it has been steady,” she said.