Friday effortlessly is the most sought after a day in a week. It not only puts a period to the week, however also furnishes us with an exuberant feeling for the weekend – two glorious days, which are often the motivation for many to survive the week. When everything about Friday is so bright, how it can ever be described as black? A color that is not, in any aspect, associated with happiness? The answer comes from the United States of America.

In the United States, Black Friday is the informal name of the day which follows after Thanksgiving Day. We would like to take this opportunity to share some info about Thanksgiving Day as well. A national holiday in the United States, this day is celebrated to express gratitude for the blessing of the harvest for the preceding year, being thankful to God for everything that they have and have achieved throughout. As the day always falls on a Thursday, the states have the following day off to create a four day weekend.

Friday, being an off, marked the beginning for Christmas shopping, and even started being considered as the first day of Christmas shopping. Witnessing footfall on this day, companies decided to cash in on the opportunity by coming up with hefty discounts, encouraging people to shop more and save more.

Everything about this day is merry, however why it is considered Black?

In 1961, the term ‘Black Friday’ came into existence. It was coined by a leading daily based in Philadelphia to describe the chaos on streets, created due to the humongous amount people that were out for shopping, leading to heavy traffic jams and delays.

UK Catching on the Black Friday Vibe

The year was 2013, when the supermarket retailer – ASDA (An American Company), introduced the first-ever Black Friday sale in the UK. Huge discounts on rather expensive electronics, ranging from TVs to Personal PCs lured thousands of shoppers, setting the ball rolling for a stampede like situation throughout their stores, across the UK.

Replicating the chaos happened in the US, streets in the UK were jam-packed with shoppers fighting over discounts. This called for the authorities to intervene, and put measures to maintain the crowd.

Black Friday today

With every passing year, Black Friday sale has only experienced increased participation. Many people who think of shopping for Christmas, start from this day. Great one-off deals, enormous savings and lots of options, Black Friday has everything to make your Christmas merrier. Although, the ugly side of it is all the pushing and fighting for discounts. Love it or hate it, this day is here to stay!