The Many Meanings of Black Friday

Where did the term Black Friday come from? Today the Friday after Thanksgiving, now known as Black Friday, is the largest shopping day in this country. Often entire families shop together celebrating the start of the Christmas season. But the term, Black Friday, used for this shopping day is a very recent phenomena. However, even more recently, Christmas begins in October where Christmas decorations crowd out Halloween decorations and overlook Thanksgiving decorations. Decorations, yes, but the holiday sales are yet to come.

Throughout history the term black referred to something bad happening. There were two 19th events which were called Black Friday. The first was September 24, 1869, which was the day the stock market crashed because financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk had cornered the gold market. It was called a conspiracy and there was a government investigation. The other Black Friday event was September 19, 1873, which is credited as the day the Panic of 1873 began with the closure of the New York Stock Exchange the next day.

The largest 20th century stock market crash in 1929 occurred on October 24th which was a Thursday, not Friday. That day was known as Black Thursday. The day saw the largest sell off of stocks in one day in American history. The New York Stock Market lost 11% of its value. The following week, on Black Monday there were more margin calls, and the market went down another 12.82%. Black Tuesday was another record loss which wiped out thousands of investors. This crash was the start of the Great Depression of the 1930s.

There is even some speculation that the term black Friday was used in the mid-20th century for the day after Thanksgiving when industry was hit with a large percentage of worker absenteeism. Although some like to say that due to holiday shoppers, it is the first day that retailers make money, which they define as in the black, as opposed to operating at a loss most of the year, in the red.

Macy’s first Thanksgiving parade was held in the 1924. It was advertised as the “Christmas Parade” and the official start of the holiday shopping season. There was no mention of Black Friday or any special “deals” shopping day. 

Apparently, a more likely origin story to our current Black Friday, is a reference to crowds coming to the Army-Navy football game held on the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. The game has been played more times in Philadelphia since 1899 due to its neutral location between West Point, New York, and Annapolis, Maryland, the locations of the military academies. The Philadelphia police began describing the Friday before the game as “black Friday” due to the crowds of people arriving in town for the Saturday game. Police could not take any time off, they had to work overtime, the traffic was terrible, and shop lifting was prevalent with so many people in town. It was not a term of endearment.

By 1961, Philadelphia’s merchants tried to use the term “Big Friday” thinking the term black Friday was considered a negative. The term for the shopping day may have been popular in Philadelphia but was not popular in the rest of the country until the 1980s.

Although not the focus of the Thanksgiving holiday, Quincy retailers were advertising holiday sales and after Thanksgiving sales 100 years ago. In those days, the Thanksgiving focus was on church and family gatherings. But if you were out and about, bargains could be found. Some even advertised countless ways to save money with the holidays coming.

A December 1, 1933, Halbach-Schroeder Co. After Thanksgiving Sales advertisement said, “It’s the kind of Halbach-Schroeder Event so many people watch and wait for.” The November 25, 1940 Quincy Herald Whig had a Grossman’s After Thanksgiving Sales advertisement suggesting “buy now—pay in January.” 

Throughout the 1960s, the term black Friday was used in the Herald Whig, but it would refer to losses in sports, accidents, movie titles, some television episodes, overburdened airlines, and generally bad days. The December 1, 1963 Quincy Herald Whig referred to the day John F. Kennedy was shot as Black Friday. Holiday shopping and Thanksgiving sales were all mentioned in the newspaper, and the Friday after Thanksgiving was considered a big shopping day, but not Black Friday. Downtown Quincy parking lots were full particularly because the city provided free parking for the season until December 26. 

The 1970s and 1980s proved to be the same as far as shopping and sales. There were plenty of after Thanksgiving sales, but no advertisement mentioned black Friday. Holiday shopping had definitely started but the black Friday term was not used much. Retailers really did not care about the origin of the name and also did not think it had a bad connotation. But in many ways today’s Black Friday does represent consumerism at its worst with crowds trying to get the same merchandise and the same deals resulting in some destruction of property, injuries, and even deaths. 

The November 29, 1996, Quincy Herald Whig quoted the National Retail Federation saying, “Last year, consumers did 16 percent of their Christmas shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving, also known as “Black Friday in the trade… .”

Today, some stores are opening on Thanksgiving and advertising special one day sales. The one Friday after Thanksgiving has turned into a four-day shopping extravaganza with Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday completing the weekend with bargains galore.

Sources

“Big Shopping Crowds in Quincy.” Quincy Herald Whig, November 27, 1964, 16.

Bond, Casey. “Black Friday History: The Dark True Story Behind The Name. Black Friday History: The Dark True Story Behind The Name | HuffPost Life

Haskin. “Answers to Questions.” Quincy Herald Whig, July 22, 1958, 10.

Lane, Beth. “Thanksgiving Bargains Common a Century Ago, Too. Quincy Herald Whig, November 22, 2015.

Mussetter, William. “Quincy Shoppers are ‘really buying’ this year.” Quincy Herald Whig, November 29, 1996, 1. 

“Never Felt So Alone: Ache Lingers in Hearts of Dallas.” Quincy Herald Whig, December 1, 1963, 1, 18.

Pruitt, Sarah. “What’s the Real History of Black Friday?” What’s the Real History of Black Friday? | HISTORY

Vocabulary.com Blog. “Word Routes.” The Origins of “Black Friday” : Word Routes | Vocabulary.com