What Are the Origins of ‘Black Friday’?

He Black Friday o Black Friday is here to stay. In the United States, this consumerist day began to become popular in the 1970s, and from there it radiated like an oil spill to neighboring countries such as Canada or some Latin American states. In 2012 it arrived in Spain, with the help of a German company that offered significant discounts.

But What is the origin of the American Black Friday? Has it always been a day dedicated to mass consumption, or does it have darker origins? Why is it called “Black Friday”?

In today’s article we go back to the origins of the quintessential consumer day and tell you the history of Black Friday.

What are the origins of Black Friday?

Yes, we know its origins are American (like most things related to consumerism), but why is it called “Black Friday”? What does a day dedicated to mass shopping have to do with this name, often given to macabre or sad events?

Actually, the origins of Black Friday They sink into a darkness as dense as that of their adjective. No one knows for sure when, where and how it emerged, although there are some theories that have been considered for years and which we summarize below. Some of them have been definitively discarded; others have been gaining ground and, currently, constitute the most probable origin of this consumerist journey.

Theories of “Black Friday”

To begin, it is necessary that we distinguish two concepts. The first is the term itself, whose possible origins we review below. The second is related to the nature of the day, which, initially, had nothing to do with what gave rise to the nomenclature.

1. Sales on the slave market

The first theory of the origin of the nickname “Black Friday” is related to the huge slave market that, in the mid-19th century, profited the southern states of the United States. Apparently, and according to this theory, the slave owners decided to make “reductions” in the prices of their slaves the day after Thanksgiving.

He Thanksgiving Day o Thanksgiving Day takes place in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November, so the day on which slave traders supposedly decided to lower their prices had to necessarily be Friday. The word “black” would come in reference to slaves, in an absolutely derogatory name. Currently, this theory is discarded, since there is not a single document that attests to it.

2. The day the American gold market collapsed

The second hypothesis of the origin of the term “Black Friday” seems more plausible. September 24, 1869 was a Friday and turned out to be a completely fateful day. The American gold market collapsed, resulting in ruin for investors. That Friday was, well, a “black Friday.”

The culprits of the chaos were two Wall Street stockbrokers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, who decided to carry out a masterstroke to increase the price of gold and be able to sell it at exorbitant prices. Faced with the unexpected rise, the government decided to intervene, which ultimately led to a sudden decline that caused real panic on Wall Street. A dark and sad day that has nothing to do with the day of consumerism that Black Friday currently represents.

So where does the habit of shopping on Black Friday come from?

This origin of “Black Friday”, linked to the fall of the gold market in 1869, agrees perfectly with the name of the day (a fateful and forgettable day), but what does it have to do with the day of atrocious consumerism in the one who has become?

To answer this second question, we must go back to the 1950s, to the city of Philadelphia, in the United States. An important American football game was going to take place on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, pitting none other than the Navy and the Army. Crowds of people moved en masse to the city, and, as they arrived the day before (Friday), they took advantage of the day buying Christmas gifts.

The avalanche that crowded the stores was such that the police had to come to control the chaos. Since then, that day has been known as “Black Friday”, again linked to a disastrous day, but also linked to fierce consumerism.

The term was definitively consolidated in 1975, when The New York Times He used it to name the day after Thanksgiving, a day reserved for shopping and discounts. Previously, in 1966, another publication had already used it, The American Philatelistin what was the first printed testimony of the term.

A true collective madness

When did businesses start offering discounts and deals the day after Thanksgiving? We cannot specify an exact date, but we know that, starting with the “unfortunate day” of Philadelphia, businesses saw the day after the thanksgiving a perfect opportunity to sell.

In fact, and even though that Friday was not (and is not) a holiday in the United States, many workers were absent from their jobs, relaxing after the Thanksgiving Day celebration and claiming medical leave that was not always real. With so much idle population, shops and department stores multiplied their potential customers; more, if they offered juicy discounts.

Currently, Black Friday is the day of consumerism par excellence. More and more countries are jumping on the daily deals bandwagon, and more and more people are flocking to stores to take advantage of them. The digital age even brought a day of consumption reserved for the internet: the Cyber ​​Mondaywhich is celebrated the Monday after Black Friday and in which, as its name suggests, items can be purchased online at succulent prices.