THE CHALLENGE
You may know all about Black Friday, but here’s the challenge. Ask anyone born after 1990 if they know the origin of the term “Black Friday”.
Chances are none of them will have a clue, other than it's a Friday for special sales. Not even as the day after Thanksgiving or Holiday Sales, since many retailers now advertise Black Friday sales throughout the year.
WILL THE REAL BLACK FRIDAY STAND UP?
The first use of the term came about in relation to a specific financial crisis in the United State: the collapse of the Gold Market on September 24, 1869.
This collapse occurred when two stock brokers, Jay Gould and Jim Frisk ‒ who had already engaged in stock fraud and bribery ‒ collaborated in a scheme to cheat Wall Street investors by manipulating the Gold Market. The subsequent crash was called “Black Friday” by the financial world, the press, and those who lost money. Note: a good description of the event can be found by clicking here.
You may know all about Black Friday, but here’s the challenge. Ask anyone born after 1990 if they know the origin of the term “Black Friday”.
Chances are none of them will have a clue, other than it's a Friday for special sales. Not even as the day after Thanksgiving or Holiday Sales, since many retailers now advertise Black Friday sales throughout the year.
WILL THE REAL BLACK FRIDAY STAND UP?
The first use of the term came about in relation to a specific financial crisis in the United State: the collapse of the Gold Market on September 24, 1869.
This collapse occurred when two stock brokers, Jay Gould and Jim Frisk ‒ who had already engaged in stock fraud and bribery ‒ collaborated in a scheme to cheat Wall Street investors by manipulating the Gold Market. The subsequent crash was called “Black Friday” by the financial world, the press, and those who lost money. Note: a good description of the event can be found by clicking here.
Scene in the New York Gold room during the excitement of September 24th, 1869
Image credit:. Library of Congress
Image Source: pbs.org/wgbh/black-friday/
Image credit:. Library of Congress
Image Source: pbs.org/wgbh/black-friday/
Until the 1950s and ‘60s, “Black Friday” and “Black any-other-day” had been associated with financial disasters.
BLACK FRIDAY REBORN
Any number of stories exist about the rebirth of the “Black Friday” phenomenon we experience today, and each year I find a new version.
Some believe the term found new life in the 1950’s when factory managers referred to the day after Thanksgiving as "Black Friday" because so many workers called in sick.
However, the most direct trail leads back to the Philadelphia Police Department in 1966 when the police began using the term to mean the day after Thanksgiving, the official opening of the Christmas shopping season, which brought massive traffic jams, over-crowded sidewalks, a rash of shoplifting, and general chaos. In addition, the annual Army-Navy football game was played on the last weekend of November and brought its own crowd, traffic, and problems.
Any number of stories exist about the rebirth of the “Black Friday” phenomenon we experience today, and each year I find a new version.
Some believe the term found new life in the 1950’s when factory managers referred to the day after Thanksgiving as "Black Friday" because so many workers called in sick.
However, the most direct trail leads back to the Philadelphia Police Department in 1966 when the police began using the term to mean the day after Thanksgiving, the official opening of the Christmas shopping season, which brought massive traffic jams, over-crowded sidewalks, a rash of shoplifting, and general chaos. In addition, the annual Army-Navy football game was played on the last weekend of November and brought its own crowd, traffic, and problems.
 |  |
Image Credit: Shopify Black Friday Philadelphia
Image Source: usupdates.com/black-friday-history Image Source: philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/police
Image Source: usupdates.com/black-friday-history Image Source: philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/police
Needless to say, the police hated that day ‒ no day off for them ‒ and the nomicker was applied in an uncomplimentary way. The people in Philadelphia didn't like the negative connotation and tried to change the term to "Big Friday" but it didn't stick. Gradually the name “Black Friday” for the first day after Thanksgiving came to mean the beginning of holiday shopping.
AMERICAN INGENUITY SAVES THE ECONOMY
Popularity and common usage grew, and by the 1970s and 80s retailers throughout the US aborted the dreaded name and complained about the negative connotations. I doubt that at that point the general public even remembered the tie to financial disaster, but apparently the merchants had not.
AMERICAN INGENUITY SAVES THE ECONOMY
Popularity and common usage grew, and by the 1970s and 80s retailers throughout the US aborted the dreaded name and complained about the negative connotations. I doubt that at that point the general public even remembered the tie to financial disaster, but apparently the merchants had not.
So, being the innovative business people that we are, someone realized that this day was the point in the year when retail businesses ‒ which traditionally operated at a loss or “in the red” ‒ started making profits and operated “in the black”. Retail interests made sure that this positive spin was publicized and ‒ Ta-dah! ‒ then the merchants loved it, and the shoppers loved the sales.
RE-REBIRTH AS A GLOBAL EVENT
The internet and the 2020 pandemic can be thanked for the expansion of Black Friday Christmas sales morphing into year-round sales events and on-line purchasing, primarily to keep businesses alive during the shut-down. It certainly eased the stress a little by being able to purchase “without contact”. During the five-day Thanksgiving weekend of 2020, shoppers still spent an average of $311.75 on holiday purchases, only 1.7% down from 2019. blackfriday.com/news/black-friday-history
The other result was the almost sudden expansion of the phenomenon throughout the world. Of course, global expansion had been happening slowing with the accessibility of internet purchasing but the COVID virus gave it a kick in the butt… so to speak.
Now there are at least 195 countries which have a “Black Friday” which features pre-holiday or other sales (since some of these countries are not Christian, such as Saudi Arabia).
But alas, most of the 195 countries do not celebrate Thanksgiving, and for them there is no day after Thanksgiving. There is, however, a fourth Friday in November, which many countries have adopted as the day to begin the holiday sales. In some places, Black Friday falls on other dates.
Of course, it is not an official holiday anywhere and in most of these countries no one gets a day off as many do in the US, which was one of the main reasons for Americans to begin their holiday shopping. Note: I presume the photos below were all taken prior to 2020.
The internet and the 2020 pandemic can be thanked for the expansion of Black Friday Christmas sales morphing into year-round sales events and on-line purchasing, primarily to keep businesses alive during the shut-down. It certainly eased the stress a little by being able to purchase “without contact”. During the five-day Thanksgiving weekend of 2020, shoppers still spent an average of $311.75 on holiday purchases, only 1.7% down from 2019. blackfriday.com/news/black-friday-history
The other result was the almost sudden expansion of the phenomenon throughout the world. Of course, global expansion had been happening slowing with the accessibility of internet purchasing but the COVID virus gave it a kick in the butt… so to speak.
Now there are at least 195 countries which have a “Black Friday” which features pre-holiday or other sales (since some of these countries are not Christian, such as Saudi Arabia).
But alas, most of the 195 countries do not celebrate Thanksgiving, and for them there is no day after Thanksgiving. There is, however, a fourth Friday in November, which many countries have adopted as the day to begin the holiday sales. In some places, Black Friday falls on other dates.
Of course, it is not an official holiday anywhere and in most of these countries no one gets a day off as many do in the US, which was one of the main reasons for Americans to begin their holiday shopping. Note: I presume the photos below were all taken prior to 2020.
 |  |
United Kingdom Saudi Arabia
Image Source: mirror.co.uk/news/black-friday-2014 Image Source: youtube.com/watch?v=_2LDvAJi7dI
Image Source: mirror.co.uk/news/black-friday-2014 Image Source: youtube.com/watch?v=_2LDvAJi7dI
 |  |
Italy Japan
Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo
Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo Image Credit: gettyimages.com.au/aeon-news-photo
I didn’t read anything or see any photos that implied that the residents of other countries are any more ‒ or less ‒ polite and civilized in their shopping behavior than Americans. It’s a zoo wherever you shop on Black Friday weekend.
 Image source: distractify.com/p/black-friday-fights Image Source: dailymail.co.uk/Black-Friday-shoppers-arrested |  |
Worldwide, Black Friday is still not the busiest or most lucrative shopping date in the world. That, believe it or not, is “Singles Day”. Spain and the United Arab Emirates — both countries with dedicated Amazon markets — have jumped on the Singles Day trend and the US may soon join in the Singles Day shopping trend (a subject for another blog).
TAKE AWAY
I find it interesting that changes in society take place so slowly or so subtly that no one seems to have the foresight to see or think about what direction trends are going. No one is recording anything much in the way of history. So much change occurs that isn’t big or political, yet any history we have appears to be created after the fact. That results in so many unknowns about where things originated and how the evolution occurred.
Perhaps in this “ME” era when everyone has the internet to express their opinions and observations to a large audience (whether or not the audience wants to hear it), and want to talk about everything including their sex life and the color of their underwear, our historical information will be more accurate… or maybe not!
I guess I’m being unrealistic. Anyone can write anything on the internet, whether or not it’s correct or corroborated and can do it anonymously. No one ever checks, and everyone seems to believe anything on the internet.
JUST SAYIN
□
2021 Sources:
https://usupdates.com/black-friday-history-2295.html
https://samdamretail.be/blog/black-friday-history-popularity-europe/
https://www.history.com/news/the-black-friday-gold-scandal-145-years-ago
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-black-friday/
https://www.junglescout.com/blog/black-friday-around-the-world/
https://www.holidayscalendar.com/event/black-friday/#:~:text=This%20crisis%20was%20the%20collapse%20of%20the%20United,into%20a%20free-fall%20that%20eventually%20caused%20its%20collapse.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/black-friday-2014-three-arrested-4710327
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2LDvAJi7dI
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515911/Black-Friday-shoppers-arrested-Virginia-man-35-sliced-bone.html
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/customers-shop-during-the-black-friday-sale-at-an-aeon-news-photo/6255698026
https://www.ilgiornaledipantelleria.it/shopping-scatenato-con-il-black-friday-venerdi-23-novembre-in-tutta-italia/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28shopping%29#:~:text=%20Black%20Friday%20around%20the%20world%20%201,originated%20within%20the%20Police%20and%20NHS...%20More%20
2020 Sources:
https://mashable.com/shopping/black-friday-2020-future-predictions/
https://www.techradar.com/news/black-friday-deals-2019
https://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/koehnblackfriday.aspx
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/02/black-friday-is-over-heres-why-retailers-are-touting-weeks-of-deals.html
https://www.theblackfriday.com/what-is-black-friday.shtml
https://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/koehnblackfriday.aspx
https://www.marketplace.org/2011/11/25/history-black-friday/
https://www.crushthestreet.com/articles/precious-metals/black-day-week-started-gold-friday
https://www.distractify.com/p/black-friday-fights
https://www.hoskinsandturco.com/blog/the-deals-and-dangers-of-black-friday-five-most-insane-injuries/
https://corporate.target.com/press/releases/2014/11/target-shoppers-nationwide-score-doorbusters-as-bl
2016 Resources
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/11/25/the-little-known-philadelphia-origins-of-black-friday/
http://www.philly.com/philly/...Black_Friday_started_in_Philly.html%20-
http://en.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/20879/20141125/history-of-black-friday.htm
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/commentary/history-black-friday
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/grant-black-friday/
http://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wordroutes/the-origins-of-black-friday/
https://blackfriday.com/pages/black-friday-history
http://mentalfloss.com/article/31581/brief-history-black-friday
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/11/black-friday-is-not-the-biggest-shopping-day-of-the-year/
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/thanksgiving/shopping.asp
TAKE AWAY
I find it interesting that changes in society take place so slowly or so subtly that no one seems to have the foresight to see or think about what direction trends are going. No one is recording anything much in the way of history. So much change occurs that isn’t big or political, yet any history we have appears to be created after the fact. That results in so many unknowns about where things originated and how the evolution occurred.
Perhaps in this “ME” era when everyone has the internet to express their opinions and observations to a large audience (whether or not the audience wants to hear it), and want to talk about everything including their sex life and the color of their underwear, our historical information will be more accurate… or maybe not!
I guess I’m being unrealistic. Anyone can write anything on the internet, whether or not it’s correct or corroborated and can do it anonymously. No one ever checks, and everyone seems to believe anything on the internet.
JUST SAYIN
□
2021 Sources:
https://usupdates.com/black-friday-history-2295.html
https://samdamretail.be/blog/black-friday-history-popularity-europe/
https://www.history.com/news/the-black-friday-gold-scandal-145-years-ago
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-black-friday/
https://www.junglescout.com/blog/black-friday-around-the-world/
https://www.holidayscalendar.com/event/black-friday/#:~:text=This%20crisis%20was%20the%20collapse%20of%20the%20United,into%20a%20free-fall%20that%20eventually%20caused%20its%20collapse.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/black-friday-2014-three-arrested-4710327
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2LDvAJi7dI
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2515911/Black-Friday-shoppers-arrested-Virginia-man-35-sliced-bone.html
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/news-photo/customers-shop-during-the-black-friday-sale-at-an-aeon-news-photo/6255698026
https://www.ilgiornaledipantelleria.it/shopping-scatenato-con-il-black-friday-venerdi-23-novembre-in-tutta-italia/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28shopping%29#:~:text=%20Black%20Friday%20around%20the%20world%20%201,originated%20within%20the%20Police%20and%20NHS...%20More%20
2020 Sources:
https://mashable.com/shopping/black-friday-2020-future-predictions/
https://www.techradar.com/news/black-friday-deals-2019
https://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/koehnblackfriday.aspx
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/02/black-friday-is-over-heres-why-retailers-are-touting-weeks-of-deals.html
https://www.theblackfriday.com/what-is-black-friday.shtml
https://www.hbs.edu/news/releases/Pages/koehnblackfriday.aspx
https://www.marketplace.org/2011/11/25/history-black-friday/
https://www.crushthestreet.com/articles/precious-metals/black-day-week-started-gold-friday
https://www.distractify.com/p/black-friday-fights
https://www.hoskinsandturco.com/blog/the-deals-and-dangers-of-black-friday-five-most-insane-injuries/
https://corporate.target.com/press/releases/2014/11/target-shoppers-nationwide-score-doorbusters-as-bl
2016 Resources
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2011/11/25/the-little-known-philadelphia-origins-of-black-friday/
http://www.philly.com/philly/...Black_Friday_started_in_Philly.html%20-
http://en.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/20879/20141125/history-of-black-friday.htm
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/commentary/history-black-friday
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/grant-black-friday/
http://www.vocabulary.com/articles/wordroutes/the-origins-of-black-friday/
https://blackfriday.com/pages/black-friday-history
http://mentalfloss.com/article/31581/brief-history-black-friday
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/11/black-friday-is-not-the-biggest-shopping-day-of-the-year/
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/thanksgiving/shopping.asp
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