What is Black Friday in a Nutshell?

One simple ideology for Black Friday is this – the commercial force of Globalization. Fridays as popularly known is a happy day for workers because of the weekend break. And yes, Black Friday is a super happy day for shoppers all over the world. Although in a literary sense, the term black doesn’t connote pleasantness.

In US since 1952, Black Friday is an informal tag for the day following Thanksgiving Day which is the fourth Thursday in November. It’s regarded as the beginning of Christmas shopping spree season. Many states in US actually have declared the day a holiday.

History did validate the blackness in Black Friday owing to numerous records of Fridays when unpleasant situations occurred. Such events cut across economic and social-political strata. Some of them were so emphatic that the default relief mood associated with Fridays were disrupted, and incidentally the term Black Friday had to surface.

Most Significant among those events was during the administration of Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), 18th president of the United States of America (1869-1877). Two of his associates tried to use their privilege to manipulate the gold market. Grant discovered their move and in a counter-measure, released excess gold into circulation which resulted in price crash. The loss and gain of fortune made on that particular occasion which was a Friday was labeled Black Friday!

Just like other variables of social awareness, the use of the phrase spread slowly over the centuries until the 20th when huge commercial activities have become the identity of the season. Attempts were made to rename Black Friday, Big Friday, but that couldn’t hold.

Then, a new school of thought was developed. As Black Friday is now the biggest shopping event of the year, the general accounting practice where red ink was used to write negative figures and black ink for positive figures came to the fore. The blackness in Black Friday is now synonymous with the black ink used in entering amounts in retail accounting records. And this connotes profitability!

Wow! Did you now see the reason why the world cannot resist Black Friday shopping? Yes, it originated from US, but every other parts of the world adopts anything that’s perceived or proven profitable. So retailers would compete for the attention of shoppers, giving all manners of crazy discounts. Including extending Black Friday through December.

Most delightful period for shoppers to acquire those desired items is no other but now. So what are you waiting for?

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