The kickoff of the monthlong shopping season began under starry skies at 12:01 a.m., when thousands of shoppers tumbled through the doors at Fashion Place mall in Murray, quickly overwhelming beefed-up security and surprising mall managers who had expected a smaller crowd.

The first hopeful shoppers began to queue at 8 p.m. in front of the the mall, one of about a dozen nationwide that opened at midnight. When mall Manager Alan Clark arrived a few hours later, the line was more than 200 yards long.

"It was a very thick, long line that stretched from the food court around to Nordstrom," Clark said. "I suppose we learned more than anything else that people were in a shopping mood this year."

For a time, the euphoria morphed into a maelstrom. At least one woman was injured when the doors opened. Murray police Detective Kenny Bass said officers responded to seven incidents of shoplifting and public intoxication.

In other corners of the valley, shopping fever flared a few hours later, when other stores and malls opened their doors to crowds waiting in the predawn darkness for the more "traditional" start of the holiday shopping season.

At the Wal-Mart Super Center in West Valley City, every parking stall was taken by 4 a.m. The store, open 24 hours a day, did not have lines of bargain-seekers waiting to get inside. Instead, shoppers started arriving at 3 a.m. and waited in lines inside for sales registers to open at 5 a.m.

"This is fun, seeing all the people excited and stuff. I do this every year," said Jackie Berry, of West Valley City.

Some signs of the shopping season were unusual. A sidewalk musician at The Gateway blew "Amazing Grace" on his bagpipes. In Sandy, one shopper camping out at Best Buy brought along a portable barbecue, which police said a street sweeper hit around 1:30 a.m. The shopper wasn't hurt.

At the South Towne Mall in Sandy, shoppers thronged the aisles and escalators at anchor store J.C. Penney. Lines of gift-laden customers snaked 20 feet from many of the store's cash registers. There were about 350 people waiting when the store opened at 5 a.m.

"I'm very happy with the crowds," manager Debbie Hutchens said. "We had expectations to have a great holiday, and this was a great start to it. We were staffed, and we were ready."

There were deals galore.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. stores, which opened at 5 a.m., gave out $10 reward cards to the first 200 shoppers. Wal-Mart offered heavily discounted TVs, such as a Viore 42-inch plasma set for $988. J.C. Penney had diamond pendants at $99.99 and artificial Christmas trees for $118.88.

Friday marked the 13th consecutive year in which Jenny Nez and her brother, Alex, have come to Salt Lake City from Tohatchi, N.M., to spend Thanksgiving with Jenny's son, Brian Bowman, and the next day making the rounds of stores in search of good deals.

In stops at ShopKo, Kmart, Lifeway Christian Stores and Mervyns, "we found some really good buys," said Jenny Nez, proudly wearing a Utah Jazz T-shirt and windbreaker and teasing her son for becoming a San Antonio fan.

Their quest began shortly after 5 a.m. and succeeded in snaring videos, stuffed animals, Barbie dolls, board games and clothes for grandkids, nephews and nieces. But they were not successful all the time. By the time they reached Kmart at 6 a.m., the plastic cars kids can power with their feet were gone.

While Black Friday is considered the start of holiday shopping, it generally is no longer the busiest day of the season. That honor now falls to the Saturday before Christmas. But stores still see Black Friday setting an important tone.

"We always kind of look at this day as a pulse read of the season," Fashion Place Manager Clark said. "If the number of people and the number of people with bags are any indication, we're off to a great start this year."

This year, analysts expect robust holiday sales gains for the overall retail industry, though the pace is expected to be slower than a year ago. The National Retail Federation projects a 5 percent gain in sales for the November-December holiday period, less than the 6.1 percent increase in the same period of last year.

The International Council of Shopping Centers estimates same-store sales will rise 3 percent, down from last year's 3.6 percent.

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* THE ASSOCIATED PRESS contributed to this report.

What is Black Friday?

The term is coined for the Friday after Thanksgiving, a shopping day when retailers were said to go from losing money, or being "in the red," to making money, or being "in the black."