Black Friday has become quite the affair. The special-event day creates hysteria in many parts of the country as people practically race right from their Thanksgiving tables to the stores that offer them the very best deals.
Black Friday isn’t even really on Friday anymore. Many stores now open on Thanksgiving evening to meet the demands of those flipping through sales catalogues while their gravy-doused turkey digests.
Related: Grateful This Thanksgiving for the ‘Emergency’ Blessings of Strangers
Last year alone, during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, companies earned some $19 billion in sales from online shoppers, Fox News reports.
Of course, there are online discounts aplenty far outside the parameters of Black Friday itself.
(There are also scams — so consumers must beware. From phishing emails to fake apps, scammers will try to find ways to prey on eager shoppers hoping to snag a good deal this week,” notes Fox News. “And with the rise of online shopping, cyber threat intelligence company RiskIQ warns people are ‘increasingly’ at risk, particularly mobile users.”)
But where and when did the post-holiday shopping spree start, exactly?
There are actually a few different accounts of the birth of Black Friday.
Most people believe the term Black Friday is used to describe the profits stores realize the day after Thanksgiving. When a business is operating “in the red,” it’s losing money. When it’s operating “in the black,” well — it’s making money. Thus, a store operating “in the red” has the opportunity to turn things around on Black Friday, a day attractive to many shoppers.
Another origin idea has nothing to do with sales. The phrase Black Friday was reportedly first used to describe the crash of the U.S. gold market on Friday, Sept. 24, 1869.
Two Wall Street financiers had bought as much gold as they could in an effort to corner the market and drive up prices.
When the conspiracy became known, everyone from top executives on Wall Street to Middle America farmers lost everything they had.
Another story about the origin of the holiday is quite popular with social justice warriors looking for one more thing to add to their list of grievances — but it’s a myth with no basis in fact.
Related: Thanksgiving Movies for the Whole Family
Some say the origin of Black Friday goes back to the 1800s — when plantation owners would apparently get the best deals on new slaves the day after Thanksgiving. Though this story has led to calls on social media for a boycott of Black Friday, most believe it’s based on nothing.
The true origins of the holiday, according to history.com, lead back to Philadelphia.
“Black Friday” was apparently a term police would use to describe the chaos they’d deal with the day after Thanksgiving. The city was so busy with shoppers and tourists that police officers couldn’t get the day off.
Everyone was headed into town to see the Army-Navy football game held the following day. Cops would work long shifts to deal with traffic, lost tourists, and the uptick in shoplifters.
The term eventually caught on in Philadelphia — and though some retailers tried to change it, it simply rolled off the tongue too well.
It wasn’t until the 1980s or so that Black Friday came into wide use and turned into the major sales holiday it is today. Since the day after Thanksgiving has been seen as the first day of the holiday season — ever since the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade took place in 1924 — it made sense for stores across the country to rally around the day and try to boost sales even more with discounts.
Just as retailers in Philadelphia took advantage of large crowds to attract customers, stores coast to coast began seeing the day as more of an opportunity for bigger and bigger profits.
These days, of course, stores go far beyond Black Friday. There’s Small Business Saturday the following day — and then Cyber Monday to close off the weekend of deals.
These days, of course, stores go far beyond Black Friday. There’s Small Business Saturday the following day — and then Cyber Monday to close off the weekend of deals.
It all started, however, not with discounts or deals, but with disgruntled cops forced to work a day they found nearly unbearable.
And check out this video:
This article originally appeared last year in LifeZette and has been updated.
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.