Hopefully, everyone had a great Thanksgiving-- whether you celebrate it or not. We could all use good days with too much food where we pause and give thanks and count our blessings.
Now, with Thanksgiving over and done, we can prepare for Christmas! For many, that starts with Black Friday-- the quintessential, grassroots American holiday. It's a true celebration of capitalism unwittingly generated by workers and embraced by the business world.
Workers called off work in droves that Friday after Thanksgiving. Businesses tried to fight it, but
Retailers realized that most people were off work and prepping for the Christmas holiday.
What better time to offer sales? Lure people off the couch and into the holiday buying spirit.
But where did the label "Black Friday" come from? Fortunately, according to Snopes, it wasn't from the sale of slaves in pre-Civil War America. Whew. Glad it doesn't carry that stigma!
But it also wasn't from the accounting principle of businesses going from the red column (in debt) to the black column (cha-ching- profit time). The most lucrative single day for retailers is the Saturday before Christmas.
So, where did "Black Friday" come from?
The term "Black Friday" is credited to the Philadelphia police department. In the 1960s, Black Friday was the term the department used for the day when people would pour into their city for the shopping and the yearly Army-Navy football game. The sudden increase in traffic caused the department to require all hands on deck, even the police band had to report to active duty causing the chief of police to joke in an interview that the traffic director was a tuba player.It wasn't until the 1980s that the name was picked up by Madison Avenue and used in marketing campaigns. Thanks to commercials and marketing genius, Black Friday was born.
Time for my small things check-in. Thanks to our hosts Lexa, L .G, and Tonja Drecker for this weekly reminder to look for the good things in life!
The boys are home!
No Black Friday shopping for me. We'll be having our Thanksgiving Feast today and enjoying time at home. Come Monday, I will be Cyber Monday shopping. We live on a hill, so I'm sure the UPS man hates me for being in love with online shopping.
We're getting our tree this weekend, which is always fun. This is one situation where older kids are a bonus. There is less argument over who gets to put the angel on top of the tree and fewer questions about why a glass of wine is an essential part of tree trimming.
Need an excellent add to your Christmas book list? Mark Noce's book is amazing. I watched The Last Kingdom on Netflix (loved it! check out the IMDB page Here!) and was disappointed to be out of seasons, but then I got Mark's book and I was ready to step back in time to an England of yore where there were feuding tribes and heroes, ahem, heroines, to lead them. I am a lucky gal to have writing friends where I can get proofs to read.
Double thumbs up to Mark!
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I never knew that about Black Friday. I try not to even go outside today - between the sales and the traffic and the snowbird season starting down here, it's safer inside. :)
ReplyDeleteI hear ya! All but the snowbirds. We don't have those. Our birds are all flying south toward you.
Deletehaha poor UPS man. Never knew that was where it came from. Definitely avoid it at our sea, although it isn't as bad up here, not that they aren't trying though.
ReplyDeleteUPS workers must be in great shape.
DeleteA glass of wine is essential for most Christmas preparation activities. My kids are just the right age to question the requirement.
ReplyDeleteThe story of the Black Friday label is interesting - now if I could apply that marketing expertise to my book sale ;-)
The older they get, the less it's required...though now I have a few old enough to want their share too.
DeleteFranklin, Penelope, and I are happy this Black Friday as we are firmly ensconced in our happy home. No going out for us.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
We are wise people. The savings is rarely worth the hassle.
DeleteThank you for answering I didn't get around to asking. Black Friday? I kept thinking what? Why is it Black Friday? Now I know. We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia, but the retail madness equivalent of Black Friday is Boxing Day. December 26, yes the day after Christmas is when all the crazy sales are on. Shopping is the last thing I want to do (most days) and especially on crazy big sale days, so I stay right away form the malls, and simply continue to enjoy family Christmas time.
ReplyDeleteDecember 26th is busy here too. The after sales and the returns. I'm just now getting back to work...slowly!
DeleteBuhhhhhhh. I worked for 10 years in retail. I work with a ground rule of I DO NOT go shopping on Black Friday...because BUUUUUUUUUUUH.
ReplyDeleteMy niece works in retail. You guys could swap horror stories. People can be so rude!
DeleteOMG, it does sound so busy and full of over-excited people all around.
ReplyDeleteBargain shoppers are a fierce group... that's for sure!
DeleteI'm Black Friday Adverse. I usually hide out at home and wait for the chaos to subside.
ReplyDeleteSame here. There is nothing in this world I need to buy that I have to deal with those crowds to get.
DeleteThe image for TWD made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Cyber Monday shopping!!!
I did a bit. Surprisingly, I couldn't find much that I wanted. I'm going to have to be creative this season. I have no idea what to buy people.
DeleteGreat research! I had no clue either. Like you, I do most of my shoppers by online too. I am amazed at UPS and mailing services and how it’s so different today then when I was a kid. Mail on Saturdays? Sundays? It’s hard to believe some days. Happy shopping and I hope Week is great :)
ReplyDeleteWasn't there a time when they worried the mail services would go under because of email? I think we made up the difference in online shopping deliveries.
DeleteI had a friend in town, and he needed a new pair of shoes. On Black Friday. So I was a very, very good friend and took him to a store. Fortunately, it was just one store, and he found a pair. It was the only time I'd gone "shopping" on Black Friday.
ReplyDeleteLove ya, girlie.