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What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is a “formal” name for the Friday following the Thanks giving. Many writers still refer Black Friday as an informal name , but the term became official in the 1990s and in 2001 it was the largest shopping day in the US.

Black Friday came about as a result of Thanksgiving day so it’s important to understand what is Thanksgiving Day first.

What is Thanksgiving Day?

Thanksgivings Day is a federal holiday in the United States and Canada that is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.

Fact #1. The term Black Friday was first used in 1826 in reference to the stock market crash.

For centuries black color was associated to calamities and sadness. So one Friday in 1826 when the stock market crashed after the government flooded the market with gold to rectify a distortion, many investors lost a fortune. Thus the term “Black Friday” was used.

Fact #2. Early Santa Claus Parades inspired Black Friday.

Eaton a Department store in Canada is credited with the first Santa Claus Parade on the 2nd of December 1905. Later Own Macy’s followed suit with their Thanksgiving parade that they popularize all over the US.

These two stores, sponsored such parades to generate sales and the culture stuck on.

Fact #3. The Original Thanksgiving day wasn’t on the 4th Thursday of November.

Originally Thanksgiving was on the last Thursday of November. In the past most business used to close on December for holidays so any shopping has to be done before December sets in.

However, in 1939 during Frank Roosevelt presidency, the last Thursday was on the last Day of November and many businesses and shoppers were worried about selling and buying what they need for holidays on time.

Franklin stepped in to save the situation by declaring Thanksgiving a week earlier. He did that for three years consecutively and these holidays were derisively referred to as Franksgiving.

In the end of 1941, the congress stepped in to clear things up by passing a joint resolution that Thanksgiving should be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November officially to give shoppers and sellers one more week to shop before the holidays.

Fact#4. The term Black Friday after Thanksgiving was first used in Philadelphia

It is said that the Philadelphia Police first used the term Black Friday derisively to refer to the masses and congestion caused by the shoppers on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Although the retailers tried to rebrand Black Friday – Big Friday to make it sound positive, the term Black Friday persisted and stuck on!