Why do people call it Black Friday? - ProProfs Discuss
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Why do people call it Black Friday?

Asked by Yashu Dhiman, Last updated: Apr 13, 2024

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4 Answers

G. Deacon

G. Deacon

Loves to build things that last longer.

G. Deacon
G. Deacon, Civil Engineer, B.E(Bachelor of Engineering), Trenton, New Jersey

Answered Dec 11, 2019

Black Friday is the name given to the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November every year, and the next day which is Friday is called Black Friday. Although, there are different kinds of stories that led to the name, however, it is believed that Black Friday was first used when two investors on 24 September 1869, technically caused the price of gold to go up, and a crash in the price also occurred that very day.

However, the most popular one which you might have probably heard about is the one that came from Philadelphia police. Many people believe that the 'Black Friday' term actually originated from the Philadelphia police in the 1950s. The term was used by the police to describe the huge crowd recorded in the city as shoppers in an uncontrollably way trooped out to buy different kinds of things. The difficulties and the stress encountered by the police as they were trying to control the crowd was what led to the name.

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E. James

E. James

E. James
E. James

Answered Dec 04, 2019

It is believed that the Black Friday is context to shopping after Thanksgiving originated from Philadelphia. The term was coined due to the heavy traffic, the disruptive pedestrians, accidents, and violence that occurs a day after Thanksgiving.

Police in the city of Philadelphia began to use this term to describe the chaos that happens after Thanksgiving. This created long shift hours for police officers as they had many law enforcement activities to deal with on that day.

It will amaze you to know that the first recorded use of the term “Black Friday” was not related to the shopping crisis but financial crisis that occurred in the US gold market on September 24, 1869.

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W. Ira

W. Ira

W. Ira
W. Ira

Answered Nov 22, 2019

The term “Black Friday” has been used in order to describe the heavy flow of traffic and a large number of pedestrians who will flock the street after Thanksgiving. It will be harder to get from one place to another because it seems that everyone is just out of the house.

Black Friday usually occurs a day after Thanksgiving, and it is already one of the shopping days that people mark in their calendars because they know that they can get what they want at a much lower price than usual. This term may have also originated from the fact that people used to call in sick the day after Thanksgiving to have more time to rest, recharge, and of course, shop.

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A. Boaz

A. Boaz

I have compassion for Automobiles and I dig the fast pace while I ride or drive.

A. Boaz
A. Boaz, Mechanical Engineer, Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Atlanta, Georgia

Answered Nov 21, 2019

Initially, Black Friday denoted the stock market crash in the 1800s when two men attempted to correct the distortion by submerging the market with gold, causing a massive crash that became known as Black Friday. Black Friday is a day that is rooted in rich history.

Black Friday has been known to refer to big sales that took place after Thanksgiving in America in Philadelphia when police used the term out of aggravation concerning the volume of shoppers that created mayhem on that day.

There was congestion in the form of automobile traffic and loud, enormous crowds in the streets. There were also traffic accidents and sometimes even violence. Black Friday has in the past, incited riots among the customers who may all be clamoring for the same item, and sometimes even murder.

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