What did the term "Black Friday" originally mean?
Black Friday is a colloquial term for the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States. Many stores offer highly promoted sales on Black Friday and open very early (sometimes as early as midnight) or some time on Thanksgiving Day.
Black Friday has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States since at least 2005.
The earliest evidence of the phrase Black Friday originated in Philadelphia, dating back to at least 1961, where it was used by police to describe the heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic that would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. This usage dates to at least 1961.
More Info:
en.wikipedia.org
What are your thoughts on this subject?
17 Comments
Laurance Levine
As a life long retailer, I’ve always heard the term Black Friday as the day after Thanksgiving that represented the first day of the year where your sales put one “into the black” from the red during the first 11 months of the year. This was termed by the great William Macy of the notorious store on Herald Square. The importance of a good Holiday Season profit wise was the difference between making a profit or losing mainly due to the necessity of seasonally current merchandise. I believe there is a book about Macy that goes into more details.
Al Breyette
One of the earliest uses of the term Black Friday was the 1869 Gold market crash so none of these answers is actually correct.Two other mentions are of a concerned police force or according to some 19th century slave owners. These all predate any usage of Black Friday for the answers options.
Pat Salloum
The term "Black Friday" was first used on Sept. 24, 1869, when two investors, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, drove up the price of gold and caused a crash that day. The stock market dropped 20% and foreign trade stopped. Farmers suffered a 50% dip in wheat and corn harvest value.
Howard Groopman
Never heard this interpretation. Supposed to be the day merchants' books go from negative (red) to black (profitable).
silhouetteman
I think that the answer is inaccurate, and term refers to most retailers go into the black in their ledgers.
theotishaynes
Sorry it was 1869!!
theotishaynes
It actually referred to the crash of the stock market in 1959!!!
Char
Laurance Levine, I did too
Wyla Reedy
I remember when it was a heavy traffic day.
As a child, we all went to our Grandparents house. They had 10 children.
Glenn Weggery
Michael McCaughey, same in New Zealand
James Parrillo, with Christine
Julie Allen, I will not like your explanation, because it concerns a tragedy, but thank you for it. Christine, James's wife
Chris Braid
Thanks majority. No idea.
Joris van Pelt
The Average Shopper Plans to Spend $358. For many, Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year. ...
It's the Most Popular Day for Shoppers. ...Sales May Reach $11 Billion in 2020. ...
Julie Allen
I have always known the term "Black Friday" to be any Friday that falls on the thirteenth day of the month. I imagine in Australia it originally came from the bushfires in Victoria that occured on 13 January 1939 killing 71 people.
Mark Gavin
Alternatively, on the day after Thanksgiving so many factory workers called in sick that US factory owners in the 1950s called it "Black Friday". Take your pick of which story you believe.