The biggest shopping day of the year. This year, Black Friday is on the 29th of November.
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The story behind Black Friday
Black Friday originated in the United States and always falls on a Friday and always the day after the great traditional American holiday of Thanksgiving. The first time this particular day became a big and popular shopping day was in 1924 when the chain Macy's announced its holiday sale during the Thanksgiving parade in New York. After that, more stores followed suit and the Friday after Thanksgiving grew to become the start of the Christmas shopping season and eventually the biggest shopping day of the year in the US. Black Friday is not an official day off in the US, but most workplaces and schools are still closed to give people the opportunity to shop and find sale items in stores and online.
The origin of Black Friday
The origin of the name Black Friday is disputed. Some say it comes from stores turning red loss figures into black profit figures as shopping with sale promotions skyrocketed on that particular day. Others claim the term was originally coined by Philadelphia police in the early 1960s when, after Thanksgiving, people took to the streets and riots ensued amid the crowds.
Black Friday in the Europe
Although Black Friday has long been a big shopping day in the US, it took a long time before european companies caught on to the trend. It wasn't until the 2010s that a number of european stores started using the term and advertising sale items. But since then, Black Friday has grown exponentially here too, and today it is the single biggest shopping day of the year, both in stores and online.