The History of Black Friday: From the Stock Market Crash to the Present

With leftover candy from Halloween reaching it's end we immediately turns our thoughts to Thanksgiving and all that it entails. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, football, pumpkin pie and passing out in front of the TV with our bellies full.

However as some of us are relaxing after dinner, savvy shoppers and bargain seekers are making their final preparations for the day that officially launches the Christmas shopping season. Much like a full scale military attack, the precision is flawless. Lists are made. Ads are scoured. The objective: get everything for Christmas for half the price and do it all before the sun rises! Failure is not an option.

It's called Black Friday. Every year the Friday after Thanksgiving people start lining up in front of stores with their lists, their money and their game faces on as early as 3 and 4a.m. When the doors finally open, usually at 5a.m., it's a grab and dash for the limited amount of the big ticket items with their drastically slashed prices.

Parents race to the must have toys of the season, shoulder to shoulder with other parents out for the same item. It's the busiest and most hectic day in the retail year. And while it may be high in consumer traffic, it's not the highest in profit. The Saturday before Christmas takes the honors for most money spent on one day by holiday shoppers.

So where did the term 'Black Friday' come from? History has shown many 'Black' days, most with dire consequences. Black Tuesday refers to the 1929 stock market crash. Black Friday in January 1939 refers to Australia's day of horrible and devastating fires. In September 1869 the U.S. underwent a great financial crisis and termed the day Black Friday. Historically Black Fridays have never been good events.

In 1975 the shopping craze that followed Thanksgiving turned into Black Friday, in reference to the hectic crowds and horrendous traffic. Despite a slipping economy shoppers still came out in full force that year and caused several newspapers to call the day 'Black Friday', and thus the tradition began.

From a retail standpoint Black Friday may mean the beginning of the season that they go 'in the black', that is they make money. In accounting negatives were written in red ink, while positive amounts were written in black ink. Thus, Black Friday is when the books begin to see more black ink marks then red!

Although getting up before the sun rises and standing outside ready to beat down the crowds is still a fact of every Black Friday, the internet is doing it's part to change that. While some families have traditional shopping adventures year after year on this hectic day, the internet has given the folks that stay home a chance to get the good deals too.

Cyber Monday, the day that kicks off the Christmas selling season for internet shoppers, falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving when everyone is back at work and shopping on their lunch break. Generally Cyber Monday will have internet stores offering excellent deals on products, free shipping and spectacular promotions.

Whatever the day after Thanksgiving is called, it will most likely continue to be the busiest shopping day of the year. While the Saturday before Christmas may see retailers turn a larger profit, the traffic through their stores will never be larger then the day after turkey day. With the rise of internet shopping, Cyber Monday will only grow in popularity.

If you're adventurous enough to go out this Black Friday remember to pack your game plan and get ready to rumble. Stores usually have very limited supplies of their big ticket items that are most likely to pull the crowd. You may not get exactly what you want but you will be guaranteed a good deal on whatever you do get.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%281869%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%281939%29