The day following Thanksgiving–commonly referred to as Black Friday–has become one of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States. In an attempt to attract shoppers to their stores, national chain stores offer limited savings on a wide range of goods. They also offer similar Black Friday deals online.
Many believe that Black Friday is a term that refers to businesses that are at financial loss or “in red” until Thanksgiving when they turn a profit or become “in the black.” But this is false.
The term was coined by Philadelphia police officers in the 1960s to describe the chaos caused when thousands of tourists from the suburbs came to Philadelphia to shop for holiday gifts and to attend the annual Army-Navy football match. Police had to work longer shifts because of the large crowds. They also had to deal with accidents, traffic jams, shoplifting, and other problems.
In Philadelphia, Black Friday was established within a few years. The day was called “Big Friday” by city merchants to give it a more appealing face.
Black Friday was used to indicating a positive increase in retail sales. However, this phrase didn’t become popular until the 1980s when retailers started spreading the red-to-black profit narrative. Black Friday was the day that stores started to make a profit and it was the largest shopping day in the United States. The truth is that most stores had their highest sales Saturday before Christmas.
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Black Friday has been accompanied by other shopping holidays in recent years. These include Small Business Saturday which encourages shoppers to visit local shops and Cyber Monday which promotes online shopping.
Black Friday had another connotation in the past, and it is not related to shopping. Jay Gould, a Wall Street financier, and Jim Fisk, a Wall Street financier, attempted to control the nation’s New York Gold Exchange gold market in 1869 by purchasing as much precious metal as possible. Their goal was to send prices skyrocketing. Their plan collapsed on Friday, September 24 thanks to President Ulysses S. Grant. The stock market immediately plummeted, causing thousands of Americans to go bankrupt.
Black Friday was used to indicating a positive increase in retail sales. However, this phrase didn’t become popular until the 1980s when retailers started spreading the red-to-black profit narrative. Black Friday was the day that stores started to make a profit and it was the largest shopping day in the United States. The truth is that most stores had their highest sales Saturday before Christmas.
Why is Thanksgiving celebrated in the U.S. on a Thursday?
Thanksgiving has become a very popular holiday in the United States. However, formally establishing the date was complicated and fraught with controversy. Federal law has established that Americans celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year since 1942. However, there have been many other dates in the past.
According to some, America’s first Thanksgiving was actually a harvest feast that brought together 53 Native Americans and some 90 Pilgrims. It took place in the fall of 1621. The holiday began in 1668 and was first celebrated on November 25. However, it lasted only a few more years. 1789 saw the establishment of the holiday. George Washington declared Thursday, November 26 as a day for public thanksgiving. However, over the years, the holiday fluctuated from month to month, and from date to date, informally. In 1863, the last Thursday of November was declared the official norm by President. Abraham Lincoln.
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Some Americans had the option to celebrate Thanksgiving on two dates in 1939. Retailers asked Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt asked retailers to move the holiday forward by one week to allow people to shop for holidays. Roosevelt was open to the idea, but many thought it was a money grab for retailers. Governors in several states declared that Thanksgiving would be observed on the traditional Thursday. Congress finally won the battle when it passed a December 1941 law that made Thanksgiving the fourth Friday of November.
