Where Did the Name "Black Friday" Come From?
It isn't really about stores going "into the black." The name started with frustrated police officers in Philadelphia.
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is famous for doorbuster deals and long lines. Ask people where the name comes from and many will say it's the day retailers finally turn a profit, moving from "in the red" to "in the black." It's a neat story, but it came later.
Philadelphia's worst traffic day
Researchers who traced the phrase found it in use in Philadelphia in the 1950s and early 1960s. Police officers used "Black Friday" for the chaos that hit the city the day after Thanksgiving, when shoppers poured downtown and visitors arrived for the Army–Navy football game, traditionally played that weekend. Officers had to work long shifts dealing with jammed streets and crowded sidewalks, and the name was not meant kindly.
Merchants disliked the gloomy label and even tried to rename the day "Big Friday," without success. The phrase spread across the country in the 1980s and 1990s, and at some point the "in the black" explanation took off, giving the name a much happier spin.
An older Black Friday
The name had already been used for disasters. On Friday, September 24, 1869, the U.S. gold market collapsed after two speculators, Jay Gould and James Fisk, tried to corner it. That day was also called Black Friday, and it ruined many investors.
From one day to a whole season
Black Friday now stretches across weeks, and it's popular well beyond the United States, including in the UK, Canada and Australia. Online shopping got its own day in 2005, when a retail trade group coined the term "Cyber Monday" for the Monday after Thanksgiving.
How to shop smart
- Check price history before you buy: some "deals" are the normal price.
- Make a list and a budget, and stick to them.
- Read the return policy, especially for gifts.
Splitting a big group bill afterwards? Our tip and bill-split calculator does the math.