FIVE FUN FACTS ABOUT BLACK FRIDAY & SHOPPING IDIOMS

 

THANKSGIVING & BLACK FRIDAY 2025

 It's Thanksgiving once again and the day after Thanksgiving is always Black Friday, but not only in the USA, it's a worldwide marketing sale event nowadays.

Link to all previous posts related on this blog about both THANKSGIVING & BLACK FRIDAY HERE.

THANKSGIVING MENU VOCABULARY

 

"BLACK FRIDAY" 2022

 It's "Black Friday" once again, here are some more videos to add to the previous posts on this topic. Check the older ones HERE: "BlackFriday@ClickOnEnglish".

And the following Monday it's "Cyber Monday", including also a basic video that explains the difference between the two days.

The new videos below:

THE ORIGINS OF BLACK FRIDAY

 Today it's Black Friday 2021, here's a video which explains the origins of the term "BLACK FRIDAY"

Video "THE ORIGINS OF BLACK FRIDAY":

THANKSGIVING 2020: CELEBRATING DURING A PANDEMIC

 Today the USA celebrate their own great tradition of THANKSGIVING that is followed tomorrow by their great merchandising export BLACK FRIDAY. But this year both activities will be conditioned by the COVID pandemic.

We're including a link with guidance for a safe Thanksgiving celebration, which we could adapt to our Christmas celebrations in a month's time.

- HOW TO CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING 2020 SAFELY

To remind you about what Thanksgiving & Black Friday is all about, here's the link to previous year's posts on this blog:

- THANKSGIVING & BLACK FRIDAY.

THE HISTORY OF 'BLACK FRIDAY'

Black Friday, USA's marketing invention after Thanksgiving, is now a common feature in other parts of the world, this video tells you the history of this event.

Video:



Previous posts about 'Black Friday' on this blog HERE.

TODAY'S...

American marketing invention which has extended throughout the world. Initially the day after Thanksgiving in the USA and the start of the Christmas shopping season with huge discounts. 

Black Friday History

For millions of people Black Friday is the time to do some serious Christmas shopping --even before the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone! Black Black is the Friday after Thanksgiving, and it's one of the major shopping days of the year in the United States -falling anywhere between November 23 and 29. While it's not recognized as an official US holiday, many employees have the day off -except those working in retail.

The term “Black Friday” was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to stores moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season.

In the 1960's, police in Philadelphia griped about the congested streets, clogged with motorists and pedestrians, calling it “Black Friday.” In a non-retail sense, it also describes a financial crisis of 1869: a stock market catastrophe set off by gold spectators who tried and failed to corner the gold market, causing the market to collapse and stocks to plummet.

[Taken from blackfriday.com]

Click here to previous posts on this blog about this issue:

- 2011 post.

- last year's post.

TODAY'S THANKSGIVING DAY 2016

Today Thursday 23rd of November is this year's Thanksgiving Day.

For +info about Thanksgiving on previous year's posts on this blog HERE.
+ info on the history of the Pilgrims and Thanksgiving.
And when it comes to giving thanks, here are 8 reasons to be thankful because you are who you are. Click and read... 
8 REASONS TO BE THANKFUL: YOU'RE YOU

BLACK FRIDAY 2015

Today is this year's Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States... but not only. Black Friday has become bestselling date throughout the world. Even here in Spain we start hearing about "Black Friday's offers and sales".

+ info:
- BLACK FRIDAY 2015 info from The Telegraph.
- IF YESTERDAY WAS THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE U.S.A., TODAY'S BLACK FRIDAY, previous post from this blog.

Video:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2015

Today's Thanksgiving Day in the USA (always the 4th Thursday in November).

(In Canada it was 12th October, always the 2nd Monday in October).

Link to previous Thankgiving posts on this blog HERE.
And a new one @ Oxford Culturemania
Thanksgiving: A brief history

THANKSGIVING 2012 (Links to old posts + new activities & pages)

Today's the fourth Thursday in November, that means it's Thanksgiving Day in the USA (In Canada, it's on the second Monday of October), so here's a quick post to link you to:

- Posts in this blog from previous years devoted to THANKSGIVING: click on

1) 4th Thursday in November: Thanksgiving in the USA.

2) Black Friday: the day after Thanksgiving.

- This year's NEW LINKS on THANKSGIVING: click on

3) ACTIVITIES ON THANKSGIVING.

4) TEN INTERESTING THANKSGIVING FACTS.

5) TEN THANKSGIVING MYTHS DISPELLED.



IF YESTERDAY WAS THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE U.S.A., TODAY'S BLACK FRIDAY

Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, which is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. The term dates back to at least 1966, although its usage was primarily on the East coast. The term has become more common in other parts of the country since 2000. Because Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday occurs between the 23rd and the 29th of November. According to Reuters, in 2007, 135 million people participated in the Black Friday shopping rush, more than turned out to vote in the 2008 United States presidential election, which recorded the largest voter turn out in history.
Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many employees have the day off as part of the Thanksgiving holiday (with the exceptions of those employed in retailing, health care, and banking), which increases the number of potential shoppers. Retailers often decorate for the Christmas and holiday season weeks beforehand. Many retailers open extremely early, with most of the retailers typically opening at 5AM or even earlier. Some of the larger retailers such as Sears, Best Buy, Macy's, Toys "R" Us, and Walmart have been reported to open as early as midnight on the start of Black Friday in localized areas and remain open for 24 hours throughout the day until midnight the following Saturday. Upon opening, retailers offer doorbuster deals and loss leaders to draw people to their stores. Although Black Friday, as the first shopping day after Thanksgiving, has served as the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season at least since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the term "Black Friday" has been traced back only to the 1960s.
The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day. More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers go from being in the red (i.e., posting a loss on the books) to being in the black (i.e., turning a profit).

Video on BLACK FRIDAY:

4th THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER: THANKSGIVING DAY IN THE USA, TODAY

The origin of Thanksgiving Day: the Mayflower Pilgrims
A typical Thanksgiving Dinner
Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. It has a religious origin,but Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.
The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. The traditional "first Thanksgiving" is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s. This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America's first. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends.

In the United States, certain kinds of food are traditionally served at Thanksgiving meals. Firstly, baked or roasted turkey is usually the featured item on any Thanksgiving feast table (so much so that Thanksgiving is sometimes referred to as "Turkey Day"). Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, sweet corn, other fall vegetables, and pumpkin pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner. All of these are actually native to the Americas or were introduced as a new food source to the Europeans when they arrived.

During Thanksgiving Day families and friends usually gather for a large meal or dinner. Consequently the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Thanksgiving is a four-day or five-day weekend vacation for schools and colleges. Most business and government workers (78% in 2007) are given Thanksgiving and the day after as paid holidays. Thanksgiving Eve, the night before Thanksgiving, is one of the busiest nights of the year for bars and clubs, as many college students and others return to their hometowns to reunite with friends and family.

In New York City, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is held annually every Thanksgiving Day from the Upper West Side of Manhattan to Macy's flagship store in Herald Square, and televised nationally by NBC. The parade features parade floats with specific themes, scenes from Broadway plays, large balloons of cartoon characters and TV personalities, and high school marching bands. The float that traditionally ends the Macy's Parade is the Santa Claus float, the arrival of which is an unofficial sign of the beginning of the Christmas season.

Video the HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING:
To sum up:
What is Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada it is celebrated on the second Monday in October.
The First Thanksgiving
When we think of Thanksgiving today, images of football, pumpkin pie, parades, and turkey dinner complete with cranberry sauce come to mind, as well as plans for a Black Friday shopping spree the following day.
Of course none of these items were present back in 1621, when the Wampanoag people and the Pilgrims sat down together to give thanks to nature. Although the celebrants at this particular meal didn’t even call it “Thanksgiving”, this particular harvest feast is the one after which we model our modern-day Thanksgiving celebrations.
People of both cultures had been giving thanks for the fall harvest and other gifts of nature for many centuries. It is interesting to note that the religious element, giving thanks to God, was not present at this particular celebration in 1621, even though the Pilgrims were devoutly religious.
However, the Native Americans had their own religious customs and beliefs. As a result, during this "first" Thanksgiving, Pilgrims and Native Americans did not focus on what was different between them, but instead concentrated on what they all shared. The two groups of people worked side by side to hunt and prepare food as equals and friends. Their friendship and cooperation was yet another thing for which to be thankful.
When Americans sit down to our Thanksgiving dinner, they honor a piece of early American history. The story of the Pilgrims and Native Americans serve as a good reminder for all to be thankful for what they have.
How Thanksgiving Became a Holiday
After 1621, future Thanksgiving celebrations occurred at various times throughout the year. George Washington declared a feast of Thanksgiving in 1789, and presidents issued similar yearly proclamations after that. During the Civil War, poet Sarah Hale started a campaign to celebrate the holiday on the same day throughout the country.
President Abraham Lincoln saw it as a way to unite the country, and he in 1863 he proclaimed a national Thanksgiving celebration on the last Thursday in November. It was changed from the last Thursday to the third Thursday by Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 as a way to lengthen the Christmas shopping holiday. In 1941, Roosevelt finally changed the date to the fourth Thursday in November, proclaiming it a Federal holiday in 1941.