NOVEMBER 23rd: BLACK FRIDAY

Black Friday is an annual shopping day that falls after Thanksgiving in the United States of America. Every year, people take advantage of the heavily discounted items that shops put up for sale. For many people, Black Friday signals the beginning of the Christmas shopping period. 

crazy FACTS

• Black Friday always occurs on the day after Thanksgiving. It is the last Friday of the month of November.

• Black Friday is not a national holiday, although many employers give their workers this day off work in addition to Thanksgiving Thursday.

• Black Friday is also known as ‘The Day After Thanksgiving’.

• It’s believed that Black Friday originated in Philadelphia in the early 1960s.

• The name supposedly originates from the moment in the year when retailers begin to turn a profit, and so go from their takings being in the ‘red’ to in the ‘black’.

• Since about 2005, Black Friday has always been the busiest shopping day of the year.

• In recent years, Black Friday has become less important as shops choose to offer discounts over the whole of November and December, and not just on Black Friday.

• Many retailers open their stores from 4 or 5am to entice customers in to get the best deals. Some stores, including Target and Macy’s, open at midnight on Thanksgiving.

• Some retailers even open on Thanksgiving Day itself. This day has become known as ‘Black Thursday’ or ‘Gray Thursday’ by some.

• Many people in the USA will camp outside shops to ensure they are the first customers into the store on Black Friday.

• Because of the number of people trying to bag the bargains, Black Friday often becomes violent and people are injured. Since 2006 there have even been 7 deaths as a result of Black Friday hysteria.

• In 2011, people waiting to buy a discounted Xbox 360 in California were sprayed with pepper spray by one desperate customer.