I’m not one to get up a 4:00 AM to go shopping, although I am in awe of those who do. I also am not much for crowds or for impulse buying, although I do my share. But I am curious about many things, as you undoubtedly can tell from the posts on this blog.
So, I wondered, why is the day after Thanksgiving, when shoppers nationwide hit the stores, called “Black Friday”? Well, it depends on whom you ask.
In an earlier post, we noted that Thanksgiving football actually started in Philadelphia, basically our backyard. It seems that the term “Black Friday” did, too, in the mid-1960s. Philadelphia policemen dreaded this day, when downtown would be crammed with traffic and shoppers, and coined the term. It did not have a positive connotation, as you can tell!
Around about 1980 or so, merchants decided to try to put a positive twist on the “black” half of the term. “Black Friday,” they claimed, was a happy day when the holiday shopping season would start to pull their balance sheets into the black (and out of the red). This seems a wee bit farfetched — any merchant who operates in the red 11 months out of the year isn’t likely to be very profitable, but the myth has stuck.
Perhaps we can re-interpret this one more time. How about “black” because it’s dark when shoppers spring out of bed to rush to the sales? Or “black” because millions of computer screens remain turned off long after their normal wake-up times? Or “black” because millions of fathers, sons and daughters make their own breakfasts, while mom shops, and end up burning the toast? OK, that one was weak. So — your suggestions?
If you’re one of the early risers, I wish you a successful foray and a safe return home to a nice, long nap.
(No, sorry, Storybook Quilts isn’t having a sale on Black Friday. But on Cyber Monday (11/30), we are offering two specials through our Artfire Kiosk on our our Facebook Fan Page): a 20% discount on the first two Dapper Dan the Snowman Storybook quilts orderd and a free year-occasion square on the first two SQ packages ordered.
