Today is "Black Friday", a day that many Americans get started on their Holiday Season shopping. Did you know? The earliest known reference to "Black Friday" is November 29, 1975. The term was mentioned in two separate articles, both with Philadelphia timelines. Therefore, the term Black Friday is believed to have originated in Philadelphia.
Did you know? "Black Friday" was originally named with deference to other stressful and chaotic days such as Black Tuesday (the day of the 1929 stock market crash.
Store aisles were jammed. Escalators were nonstop people. It was the first day of the Christmas shopping season and despite the economy, folks here went on a buying spree. . . . . "That's why the bus drivers and cab drivers call today 'Black Friday,'" a sales manager at Gimbels said as she watched a traffic cop trying to control a crowd of jaywalkers. "They think in terms of headaches it gives them."
Did you know? The generally accepted meaning of "Black Friday" changed November 26, 1982. On that day, ABC News reported that Black Friday is the day that retailers' ledgers go from red ink to black ink, signaling profit. If this were true, companies like Wal-Mart and Target would show losses in the first three quarters of the years. They don't.
Did you know? Black Friday is not the busiest shopping day of the year. #1 is usually the Saturday prior to Christmas.
If you're out shopping today on Black Friday, remember to set a budget and stay within it. Good luck!
Sources
Purdue University News Service
"Christmas Shopping Facts and Figures"
Press Release, Nov. 22, 2000
http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/21693/
Black Friday (Shopping)
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_%28shopping%29
(Image courtesy: University of Southern Florida)
