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English on the Media2023. 1. 1. 08:37
English in Daily Life2020. 11. 29. 11:12
Black Friday is an informal name for the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November.
Many stores offer highly promoted sales on Black Friday and open very early, such as at midnight, or may even start their sales at some time on Thanksgiving.
Many Americans see Black Friday as the official beginning of the Christmas holiday season, a time when many people go shopping for gifts to give to their family and friends on Christmas Day. On Black Friday, many stores have big sales, and it is common to see long lines of people waiting outside stores and in malls to get the best deals first before they run out. Because of this, stores usually open around 6 am in the morning or later. Some stores, though, started opening at 5 am and even 4 am in the late 20th century. Now, a few stores even open at midnight. Shoppers like to stay out all day to get what they need, making Black Friday the busiest shopping day of the year.
1905, Canadian department store Eaton's began the first Thanksgiving Day parade by bringing Santa on a wagon through the streets of downtown Toronto. In 1913, eight live reindeer pulled Santa's "sleigh." By 1916, seven floats representing nursery rhyme characters joined Santa in the parade.
In 1924, the Eaton's parade inspired Macy's Department Store to launch its famous Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City as a way to celebrate its success during the Roaring '20s. The parade boosted shopping for the following day, and retailers developed a gentleman's agreement to wait until then before advertising holiday sales.
In 2014, spending volume on Black Friday fell for the first time since the 2008 recession. $50.9 billion was spent during the four-day Black Friday weekend, down 11% from the previous year. However, the U.S. economy was not in a recession. Christmas creep has been cited as a factor in the diminishing importance of Black Friday, as many retailers now spread out their promotions over the entire months of November and December rather than concentrate them on a single shopping day or weekend.
The earliest evidence of the phrase Black Friday originated in Philadelphia, where it was used by police to describe the heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic that would occur on the day after Thanksgiving. This usage dates to at least 1961. As the phrase became more widespread, a popular explanation became that this day represented the point in the year when retailers begin to turn a profit, thus going from being "in the red" to being "in the black"
The term Cyber Monday, the online counterpart to Black Friday, refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday based on a trend that retailers began to recognize in 2003 and 2004. Retailers noticed that many consumers, who were too busy to shop over the Thanksgiving weekend or did not find what they were looking for, shopped for bargains online that Monday from home or work.
In the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. Boxing Day sales are common and shops often allow dramatic price reductions. For many merchants, Boxing Day has become the day of the year with the greatest revenue.
