Black Friday

By: Breanna Naysmith

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The day after Thanksgiving is the most chaotic shopping day everyone dreads, Black Friday. Retailers offer special reduced prices and put almost the entire store on sale for everything from electronics to clothing and toys. Black Friday is seen as the start of the critical holiday shopping season. Since there are major sales, everyone starts their Christmas shopping and maybe some birthday shopping.

The phrase first appeared in 1869 to describe the financial crisis after the United States's gold market crashed. It became linked to retail after stores were "in the red" for the entire year, which indicated poor sales. The day after Thanksgiving, retailers were "in the black" after the flood of shoppers who spent their money on discounted items. The term was altered a little in the 1950's to describe the shoppers from the suburbs that rushed to Philadelphia the day after Thanksgiving for the sales. Currently, Black Friday is used to symbolize the rise in sales for companies and the shoppers hunting for the best sales. Finally, leading into naming the entire day after Thanksgiving for holiday shopping, they gave the day the name ‘Black Friday.’