The day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday, a day when many stores promote sales and deals in order to kick off the official start of Christmas shopping. Stores may also open early, sometimes on Thanksgiving day or midnight, in order to further promote their stores. 

This tradition first started before there was a name for it, according to Adam Hayes of Investopedia. Stores started to open on this day as a means to beat their competitors; many places gave employees off that Friday, so being open allowed many stores to get ahead of the rest.

The name ‘Black Friday’ originated in Philadelphia by police officers who were overworked by the long lines and used ‘black’ as a negative connotation, though this is no longer an acceptable word to use, Hayes notes. Now, starting in the mid-1990s, the connotation is black ink and was then promoted by articles. 

“It is kind of weird that a term we use now originated from that.” Said senior Olivia Schmidt. 

In the early 2000s, Black Friday was designed to be the biggest sales day of the year. The progression of it was fast and many stores sought to outdo the other. Walmart, in 2011, made an announcement that they would start their Black Friday deals on the evening of Thanksgiving. Many stores then scrambled to do the same. Now, Black Friday deals can span throughout Thanksgiving week and the entirety of the weekend, followed then by Cyber Monday. The event is larger than ever before.

The most popular Black Friday tradition in many households is a day filled with shopping, but some don’t have the opportunity to go shopping on Black Friday whether it be because they’re working or in other circumstances. Stores that offer online deals during Black Friday allow for more people to participate, therefore gathering in more profit. 

Black Friday sales have been reported at over 900 billion dollars with nearly 200 million people participating. The number of sales has often led to people being violent; stampedes have been common along with fistfights over products. 

Forbes Magazine released an article detailing Amazon’s most popular items, which are, “Apple AirPods and Nintendo Switches, as well as ____ Echo Dot smart speakers and FireTV sticks.” It is also said Amazon’s independent retailers made over $1 billion in sales this year, along with gathering an increase of 2.3% on Black Friday and 5.8% on Cyber Monday.

Daniel Payne, a senior, said “You can find those same deals online or for better. I’d rather participate in Cyber Monday.”