When you think of “Black Friday” today, think of the crowds, queues and situations on the verge of an incident as customers push or literally fight to buy a product as cheaply as possible. And, that image that forms in your mind is completely correct! In recent decades, "Black Friday" has become a planetary day of big discounts and even bigger purchases. And, historically, he had nothing to do with it at all!
First, when we add the adjective "black" to a date or day, it's hard to think of anything good. Black Friday has had such a dark reputation in the past.
There are several stories about why the very first day after Thanksgiving became “black” and they all have to do with American history. The most common story says that the official use of the term dates back to 1869 and - has nothing to do with shopping!
That day is known for the big drop in the price of gold, which created upheavals on the precious metals market, from which the American economy has been recovering for years.
What actually happened?
Jay Gould and Jim Fisk tried to monopolize the entire US gold market. For months, they bought huge amounts of gold from smaller shareholders, accumulated it and thus planned to influence the formation of the price of this precious metal. In order to additionally secure themselves, they also involved the politician Bos Tweed in the conspiracy, whose job was to bribe high-ranking officials, as well as the judges themselves. It was Friday, September 24, 1869, when the conspiracy was finally discovered!
President Grant found out about this manipulation and ordered the US Treasury to put huge stocks of gold into circulation, causing prices to fall. Wealth was created and lost in that one, single day, even Grant's son-in-law went bankrupt, but the goal was achieved - the three-member tandem was financially ruined, and the state continued to control the price of gold.
How did "Black Friday" become a shopping day?
The first mention of "Black Friday" in the context that is planetarily known today is related to Philadelphia during the 50s and 60s of the last century. The term originated among the local police officers who were anxiously waiting for this day because a traffic collapse was created during it due to the large crowds created by those who came to the city due to early Christmas shopping and to take advantage of discounts after Thanksgiving.
There is other evidence that confirms that "Black Friday" first took root in Philadelphia police circles. Journalist Joseph Barrett once used "Black Friday" in an article for the "Evening Bulletin" to describe the traffic jams in the city.
- In the early 60's, police reporter Nathan Kleger and I had a story about Thanksgiving in Philadelphia. The term "Black Friday" appeared on the cover, and we used it to describe the terrible crowd in the city center - Beret wrote.
It wasn't just the cops who hated this day. Mass shopping also affected the mood of the sellers and brought them big problems. The ratio of the number of sellers and buyers created problems for shop owners, because many employees wanted to extend the holiday after Thanksgiving, asking for sick leave just to avoid working in conditions of increased workload.
Black Friday ”is not so black!
Over time, traders forgot about the problems caused by "Black Friday" and began to rub their hands with satisfaction because the income during that day was always a record, and even goods that were otherwise in the magazine for a long time were sold.
As early as 1961, public relations experts began working on changing the image that "Black Friday" had in public, in order to make this day a synonym for family fun and shopping. Some have even tried to replace the adjective "black" with the adjective "big", but the name has not survived.
In the end, when we look today at the crowds, looting and occasional fights that break out in stores during "Black Friday" (believe it or not, in America there were dead people in the human stampede for discount stores!) - the name somehow remained exactly as it should be. to be. Is it?
I also love shopping when black Friday come