Black Friday
Every fourth Friday in November is always celebrated as Black Friday. The day after Thanksgiving, commonly referred to as Black Friday, has become one of the busiest annual shopping days in the United States.
On Black Friday, all stores nationwide in America usually provide special offers such as limited thrifty shopping for a wide variety of items to attract shoppers to the store while offering similar deals online.
According to its official website, Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving, most people make it a day to shop in preparation for Christmas. This year, Black Friday coincides on November 24, 2023.
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| (Photo: Eduardo Munoz/REUTERS) |
The term Black Friday itself is known to have originated in the 1960s in the United States. It began with the events that occurred in Philadelphia.
History of Why It's Called Black Friday
The term Black Friday dates back to around 1960 when police officers in Philadelphia began using the phrase "Black Friday" to describe the chaos that ensued when large numbers of suburban tourists came to the city.
Also, read: Turkey and Thanksgiving Day Traditions.
They come for holiday shopping and flood town to attend the annual Army-Navy football game on Saturday, the next day. The huge crowds gave the police a headache and worked longer hours than usual because they had to deal with traffic jams, accidents, shoplifting, and other problems.
Early Black Friday Appearance by Police in Philadelphia
According to the History page, the situation at that time became uncontrollable after the game, the police who were busy taking care of traffic also had to deal with riots of many people stealing merchandise in shops on a large scale. Many sellers suffered losses in the event.
Police described the events as "Black Friday". In later years, the term Black Friday has taken root in Philadelphia. Merchants in the city tried to give a better face to the day by calling it "Big Friday". But it didn't last long and came back with the term Black Friday.
Black Friday Becomes a Massive Shopping Day in the U.S.
The phrase "Black Friday" to signal a positive boost in retail sales didn't expand nationwide until the late 1980s when traders began spreading the red-to-black profit narrative. Black Friday is described as the day on which stores start raking in profits for the year and as the biggest shopping day in the United States. Most stores experience the biggest sales on the Saturday before Christmas.
The term Black Friday is then used by merchants or retail stores and changed into a term to provide attractive offers to its customers. This has a huge profit impact on them. In accounting records, red ink means loss, while black ink means profit.
Although the exact history of Black Friday is still unknown, until now the Black Friday moment which coincides with the fourth Friday in November or the day after Thanksgiving, has always been used as an opportunity for merchants to make profits, as well as for customers who are happy with attractive offers on Black Friday.