To be clear, I detest shopping, and I certainly never set foot in stores the day after Thanksgiving, I don’t care if the jeans are 50% off. But this year, my youngest son and I had to know, how did Black Friday get its name?
Turns out, Black Friday has some very dark history.
According to History.com and Businessinsider.com, the term was first used way back on Friday, September 24, 1869, when investors Jay Gould and Jim Fisk decided to drive up the price of gold by purchasing as much as they could. Their efforts caused a stock market crash, a cease of foreign trade, and a 50% drop in the value of wheat and corn. Farmers suffered significantly that year.
Very black indeed.
According to thebalance.com, the term was popular again in the 1950s when Philadelphia police used “Black Friday” to describe the chaos caused by increased pedestrian and auto traffic on the busy shopping day after Thanksgiving.
Retailers didn’t like the negative connotation of “Black Friday” and tried to spin the name to reflect the profits made on the first official shopping day of the Christmas season. (Accountants say a business is “in the black” if it operates with a profit.)
However, the chaos of Black Friday continued, with most Black Fridays of the past decade or so marred by fights, shootings, and even death. The worse incident happened in 2008 when 2000 people rushing into a New York Walmart broke through the doors and trapped a man in a vestibule. He died from asphyxiation.
See why I stay home? This is what I don’t like about Christmas – the endless consumption spurred on by retailers and advertisers. Where are we as a society if we are shooting people over a parking space or fighting over a discounted T.V.? We have lost the meaning of the holiday.
If you are out there today, or any other Black Friday, be careful. Don’t be distracted by the traffic or the sale signs. That’s not what the holiday, or we, should be about.
Do you venture out on Black Friday? Why is it worth it to you?
Thanks for getting thoughtful with me!
Yikes, dark indeed! I admit to venturing out with my daughter who was sooooo excited to go to the outlets. We got matching sweaters for a great price 🙂 My husband wants an insta-pot – but that will be purchased on-line. We had a good day, but I’m also fighting the consumption overload and wanting more more more. It’s cliche but true: the best gifts are faith and family and health (which I’ll enjoy in my cozy sweater 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving!
Brave woman, good mama. Enjoy that sweater. 😉 Let’s help each other fight the consumption mentality this season!