Background: Black Friday 

is a name used for two unrelated occasions. It is now most popularly

used in the US to refer to the day after Thanksgiving, which is often considered the first day of
the holiday shopping season and is known for featuring discounts from retailers.
Black Friday is always the Friday after Thanksgiving, which is always the fourth Thursday in
November. In 2021, Black Friday is November 26. In 2022, Black Friday is November 25.
The name Black Friday is also used to refer to September 24, 1869, the date of a financial panic
in the US sparked by gold speculators. While many people believe the term Black Friday finds
its roots in the sense of black meaning “showing a profit; not showing any losses,” this isn’t
actually the case.
Historically, black has been associated with days of economic stress as opposed to days of
booming commercial success. The first Black Friday occurred in 1869 after financier Jay Gould
and railway businessman James Fisk attempted to corner the gold market, which ultimately
resulted in financial panic and the collapse of the market. A little over 60 years later, on October
29, 1929, another stock market crash referred to as Black Tuesday marked the onset of the Great
Depression. The true origin of the post-Thanksgiving Black Friday lies in the sense
of black meaning “marked by disaster or misfortune.” In the 1950s, factory managers first started
referring to the Friday after Thanksgiving as Black Friday because so many of their workers
decided to falsely call in sick, thus extending the holiday weekend.

Reference: Dictionary.com. (2021, November 24). Do you know the history behind Black
Friday? Dictionary.com. Retrieved March 30, 2022