Black Friday is a commonly recognized holiday among Americans.
This year, the sales event will be held on Friday, Nov. 29.
When you think of the holiday, you probably think of lines of people at checkouts, people camping outside waiting for opening and having shopping carts filled to the brim with the latest technology and kitchenware.
There is a slight controversy as to why this holiday has its name and what exactly created the event.
Following right after Thanksgiving, Black Friday is said to be a day where stores that were “in the red” (losing money), turn into a profiting business where the accountants record their profits in black.
Black Friday has many origins, but the accepted truth is that there was an annual football game held in Philadelphia every year on the Saturday after the holiday.
Mobs rushed toward the town and there was a mass amount of shoplifting and crime that the police couldn’t keep up with.
Instead of focusing on the mayhem every year, local enforcement tried to make it a positive day full of deals rather than a day that descends into madness annually.
All the camping out and abundance of sales eventually morphed into something even bigger than imagined. The once 24-hour occurrence is now possibly a weeklong event, arguably a yearlong event.
Society is shopping online and constantly on the search for more bargains. People aren’t just getting sales within the confines of Black Friday now, but on days like Amazon Prime Day and Walmart’s online Black Friday.
On that note, how good are the deals on this day?
It’s kind of a slippery slope to see a huge 50% off sign. Technically, it’s not a lie, but retailers are known for jacking up prices close to the time to make that 65-inch TV look that much more desirable.
The craze behind Black Friday has a long and possibly problematic past. It could be a cover for crime, and it could be a means to make businesses enter back into “the black.”
Black Friday’s meaning decreases every year with the endless bargains, but it is still something to look out for this year after you fill your stomachs on Thanksgiving.
