Black Friday

Black Friday is the name given to the shopping day after Thanksgiving. It was originally called Black Friday because the volume of shoppers created traffic accidents and sometimes even violence. Police coined the phrase to describe the mayhem surrounding the congestion of pedestrian and auto traffic in downtown shopping areas.

 

Black Friday was a busy shopping day long before it got its name. In the 1950s, people began calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving to give themselves a four-day weekend. Since stores were open, those playing hooky got a head start on their holiday shopping. Rather than try to determine who was legitimately sick, businesses just added that day as another paid holiday. 

 

Philadelphia police used the terms Black Friday and Black Saturday to describe the traffic jams that occurred the two days after Thanksgiving. This was first reported in 1961 in Public Relations News. In a report to the American Dialect Society, Bonnie Taylor-Blake also notes that the article describes how merchants tried to change the image to one of black ink, representing profitability

The Friday after Thanksgiving was one of the most profitable days of the year. Accountants use black to signify profit when recording each day's book entries. They use red to indicate loss.
 

Retailers want to make Black Friday a positive event. But shoppers, intent on getting good deals, have turned it into Black-Eye Friday. You must weigh the rewards of saving money with the risk of getting hurt.Walmart seems to be the worst location for violence. In recent years, the best Black Friday deals are not on Black Friday. Many retailers offer their best deals earlier.