The origin of Black Friday is linked to the city of Philadelphia, in the United States and the holiday of Thanksgiving Day. Here we tell the story of a tradition that has become the symbol of Christmas consumption
American writer Gertrude Stein said: “Whoever said money can’t buy happiness didn’t know where to shop.”
In anticipation of opening the dance of Christmas gifts, it is better to wait for the offer period for our wallet. The golden rule is to remember that, after Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving day , which takes place on the last Thursday of November in the United States with a stuffed turkey attached, the coveted Black Friday arrives.
But if it’s a good day for those who sell and those who buy, why call it black? History, as often happens, comes to our aid.
Black Friday in Philadelphia
Originally, “Black Friday” referred to the chaos that was created in Philadelphia the day after Thanksgiving, when hordes of tourists flocked to the city for the annual Army vs Navy American football game , that is, between the teams of the Military Academy of West Point and that of the Annapolis Naval Academy. A hard-fought traditional meeting in which even the President of the United States often participates. And so in the city there was a full house: traffic, bag snatching, alcohol, chaos! The policemen had to work and even work overtime instead of vacation: in short, for them it was a real “black” Friday. The shopkeepers, on the other hand, taking advantage of the crowd of people, did great deals. And this is where the consumer tradition of discounts and special offers was born.
Although less credible, there is another hypothesis about the name : the accounting records of the shopkeepers were filled in with pen, using red ink for loss accounts and black ink for positive accounts. And on the Friday after Thanksgiving, thanks to these promotions, the accounts were definitely in the black.
In the early days, they tried to call it Big Friday instead of Black Friday to get rid of the negative connotation but they couldn’t.
The other “hot” Friday, the one before Christmas
There is also a Black Friday in England which, however, falls on another date, namely the Friday before Christmas. Of course, it is the day most appreciated by those who are laggards.
In fact, until 2001, even in the US the day when the shops did the most business was the Saturday before Christmas, so much so that the shops were already opening at 6 am. After that year, the race for more and more early openings began: in 2012 the Walmart store chain, among many criticisms, even started the sale at 8 pm on Thanksgiving day. While last year, in Chicago, Macy’s opened at midnight and the confusion, right up to the fight, was unimaginable.
In Italy, Black Friday arrived for the first time with Apple in 2011 and again this year, without crowds, we will not be caught unprepared: Black Friday falls on November 27th .
It is now an indicator of the trend in consumption
The day has now become an economic point of reference. Financial analysts read it as a consumption indicator as it marks the start of Christmas shopping. It seems that in 2020, Americans will spend 148.5 billion dollars between Black Friday and cyber Monday, the Monday after Thanksgiving, dedicated to online purchases.
And, to underline how Black Friday tells of consumption trends, to cope with the tough period we are facing, this year some online sales giants started it a month earlier. “We realize we can’t have it all, and so begins the mad rush for everything else,” said American tenor Robert Brault.
But how should consumers behave in the face of the endless sea of purchasing opportunities? With wisdom. It is better to move in advance and, perhaps, draw up a list of gifts you want to do because the attraction for the futile is just around the corner. In this atypical 2020, it is however clear that physical purchase in stores will be limited, also because almost all businesses, including bookstores and family-run shops, have equipped themselves with online shopping.
