Almost everyone, especially the more serious shoppers, all know or have heard of the term “Black Friday” but where did the term Black Friday come from? Black Friday is the day that follows Thanksgiving day when retail stores offer early bird discounts and deals for the Holidays. Most Black Friday shoppers will even get up early in the morning just to line up in stores to get a share of great shopping deals.

During Black Friday, stores are packed with huge crowds of eager shoppers who are aiming to save money and to get great buys for holiday gifts. Surely, many of these shoppers are wondering where the term Black Friday came from (if they can pause from looking at the deals long enough to wonder, that is…)

Where Did the Term Black Friday Come From?

There are actually many different answers to the question, where did the term black Friday come from, since there are several different versions of how this shopper’s holiday came to be called Black Friday.

One of the first early references comes from an economic crisis during 1869. There was financial panic in the stock market. The New York Times coined the term, “Black Friday,” but this had a very different meaning than the way the term is commonly used today to reflect a shopping holiday.

Another story suggests that during the early days of this shopping tradition, people were so excited to shop for discounted items that they would swarm stores and shopping centers. This shopping riot caused traffic accidents and even altercations amongst the shoppers. In 1966, the police department of Philadelphia coined the term, “Black Friday” to describe the bleakness of the day that resulted from the accidents.

Another reference was made to an accounting term that would indicate profit or income for the retailers. Being “in the red” indicated loss whereas being “in the black” meant making a profit. As their sales began to significantly improve, retailers began to look forward to the day after Thanksgiving when customers would flock to their stores and sales were tremendous. In fact, this was the day that was supposed to put the stores “in the black,” hence the term “Black Friday.”

In fact, during the Great Depression, President Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving day a week earlier to allow merchants to have a longer period of shopping days for the holiday season.

Black Friday eventually came to be a term that marks the official start of holiday shopping season. The expression has been most commonly used in this context ever since the very first Macy’s Thanksgiving parade held in 1924. However, even before the day became known as “Black Friday,” it was still a shopping day. It was just simply referred to as “After Thanksgiving Sales” back then. Then, and today, it is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.