Every year, Black Friday occurs the day after Thanksgiving. Some people go to extremes to get the items that they want, but where did the madness of Black Friday begin? Black Friday started off in 1932, but its history goes back further than that. The term Black Friday was originally used when the stock market and value of gold collapsed in 1869, but this did not lead to the black Friday that we know today.

The Black Friday that we know today came from retailers who had a horrible year of profits and were considered “in the red”, so on the day after Thanksgiving they had an annual sale bringing in very large profits and putting them “into the black”. This is said to have occurred around 1932. After this in the 1950’s the term “Black Friday” was used by the police officers of Philadelphia to describe the chaos of shoppers and tourists on the day after Thanksgiving. After this it began to catch on throughout the country through the 1970s and 1980s. Since then the Black Friday sales have spread to three days of chaos; Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.

Many people camp out overnight to get the best deals on Christmas gifts. Originally stores would open at the earliest of six or five in the morning to sell products on Black Friday, but overtime that has changed and now nearly all big businesses open at midnight. Some stores open at six o’clock on Thanksgiving, but this has been outlawed in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine due to blue laws. Black Friday can also lead to crimes such as theft and assault. Since 2006 there have been a reported seven deaths and 98 injuries as a result of Black Friday. Emergency and fire lanes have also been blocked from Black Friday shoppers, putting others at risk. Black Friday can be a day of both spreading Christmas joy and sending people to the hospital. When celebrating Black Friday be sure to stay safe and spread Christmas cheer.