In 1960&#39;s, the Philadelphia Police Department became so frustrated with the overflowing streets, traffic jams and regular fights caused by the crowds of people that visited the stores the day after Thanksgiving that, it’s believed, they coined the name ‘Black Friday’ in the hope of dissuading people from heading to the shops.
It completely failed, but the name stuck.

The Intense Crowding After Thanksgiving

History

Money & Investments

Retailers weren’t that happy with the name &quot;Black Friday&quot; at first: it was associated with the Great Depression of the 1930s, signaled by Black Thursday, so they tried to reinvent the image of the Black Friday frenzy.
The ‘black’, it was argued, referred to the ledgers used by retailers. For the majority of the year, shops would be ‘in the red’ (losing money) but Black Friday indicated the moment when most retailers would start making a profit, or going ‘in the black’.

Reimagining The Black Friday Frenzy

Money

<ul><li><a href="#main-content">Skip to Main Content </a> </li><li><a href="#main-nav">Skip to Main Navigation </a> </li><li><a href="#site-footer">Skip to Footer </a> </li> </ul>

Thank you for registering to HistoryExtra

If you subscribe to BBC History Magazine Print or Digital Editions then you can unlock 10 years’ worth of archived history material fully searchable by Topic, Location, Period and Person. Please enter your number below.

The official website for BBC History Magazine, BBC History Revealed and BBC World Histories Magazine

<ol><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com">Home </a><meta/> </li><li> <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/">Period </a><meta/> </li><li> <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/">20th Century </a><meta/> </li><li> Why is the shopping day after Thanksgiving called ‘Black Friday’? </li> </ol>

Why is the shopping day after Thanksgiving called ‘Black Friday’?

<a href="https://www.buysubscriptions.com/subscriptions?promo=X20BRANDA&amp;MinPrice=0&amp;MaxPrice=0&amp;PageNo=1&amp;PageSize=12&amp;SortBy=&amp;OpenFacets=1&amp;ShowPriceFilter=false&amp;Categories=72&amp;Categories=77&amp;PromoCode=&amp;DeliveryRegionId=0&amp;SortDirection=0&amp;utm_medium=brandsite&amp;utm_source=historyextra.com&amp;utm_campaign=uk-xmas-offer_x20branda&amp;utm_content=promotional-link&amp;style=brand">Save over 50% on a BBC History Magazine or BBC History Revealed gift subscription </a>

On the shopping day known as 'Black Friday', millions descend on the shops to spy out the best bargains. How did the day get its name?

<ul><li><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.historyextra.com%2Fperiod%2F20th-century%2Fwhy-black-friday-name-shopping-day-after-thanksgiving-called%2F">Share on Facebook <svg> </svg> </a> </li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Why%20is%20the%20shopping%20day%20after%20Thanksgiving%20called%20%E2%80%98Black%20Friday%E2%80%99%3F%20HistoryExtra%0A%0A&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.historyextra.com%2Fperiod%2F20th-century%2Fwhy-black-friday-name-shopping-day-after-thanksgiving-called%2F">Share on Twitter <svg> </svg> </a> </li><li><a href="whatsapp://send?text=%22Why is the shopping day after Thanksgiving called ‘Black Friday’?%22%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.historyextra.com%2Fperiod%2F20th-century%2Fwhy-black-friday-name-shopping-day-after-thanksgiving-called%2F">Share on Whatsapp <svg> </svg> </a> </li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=I saw this on HistoryExtra.com and thought of you Why is the shopping day after Thanksgiving called ‘Black Friday’?&amp;body=I found this article on HistoryExtra.com and thought you might be interested: On the shopping day known as 'Black Friday', millions descend on the shops to spy out the best bargains. How did the day get its name?%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.historyextra.com%2Fperiod%2F20th-century%2Fwhy-black-friday-name-shopping-day-after-thanksgiving-called%2F%0A">Email to a friend <svg> </svg> </a> </li> </ul>

<time>November 24, 2020 at 1:06 pm </time><meta/><meta/>

Black Friday has been adopted as the unofficial opening to the Christmas shopping period. It all began in the United States as a day of ‘doorbuster’ sales the day after <a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/modern/thanksgiving-history-facts-when-first-what-why-pilgrims-turkey/">Thanksgiving </a>but increasingly, Britain is getting into the swing of things – sometimes literally, as brawls and all-out fights are quite common among scrapping shoppers.

<ul><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/history-shopping-sales-black-friday-boxing-day-what-oldest-shop-selfridges/">A brief history of shopping </a> </li> </ul>

Retailers love the day of discounts as billions are spent within a matter of hours, but there is one organisation for whom the day brings nothing but despair: the police.

In 1966, the Philadelphia Police Department grew so frustrated by the congested streets, traffic jams and regular tussles that, it’s believed, they coined the name ‘Black Friday’ in the hope of dissuading people from heading to the shops. It completely failed, but the name stuck.

Understandably, retailers weren’t keen on the name – it had strong associations with the Great Depression of the 1930s, signalled by Black Thursday – so they tried to reinvent the image of the Black Friday frenzy. The ‘black’, it was argued, referred to the ledgers used by retailers. For the majority of the year, shops would be ‘in the red’ (losing money) but Black Friday indicated the moment when most retailers would start making a profit, or going ‘in the black’.

<ul><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/nylon-pirates-the-postwar-craze-for-cut-price-stockings/">Nylon pirates: the postwar craze for cut-price stockings </a> </li> </ul>

So that is how Black Friday got its name. There is no evidence to the regularly espoused theory that it went back to a 19th century tradition when slave owners would sell their weak or elderly slaves at low prices. Fortunately, that story is purely apocryphal.

<a href="https://www.historyextra.com/magazine-issue/bbc-history-revealed/">This article was taken from BBC History Revealed magazine </a>

<ul><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/tag/history-shopping/">Shopping </a> </li><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/tag/thanksgiving/">Thanksgiving </a> </li><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/topic/social-history/">Social history </a> </li><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/article-type/qa/">Q&amp;A </a> </li> </ul>

Ancient board games: which ones did people play for fun in the past?

A brief history of turkeys, plus why we eat a turkey dinner at Christmas

Christmas 2020 issue of  BBC History Magazine  out now!

Save over 50% on a gift subscription to their favourite history magazine

Shop ’till you drop: a brief history of Christmas shopping

The Space Race: The Cold War rivalry that put humans on the Moon

Nylon pirates: the postwar craze for cut-price stockings

Want to be updated when there is HistoryExtra news?

Sign up to receive our newsletter!

Thanks! Our best wishes for a productive day.

By entering your details, you are agreeing to HistoryExtra <a href="https://www.immediate.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/">terms and conditions </a>. You can unsubscribe at any time.

<ul><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/HistoryExtra">Visit us on Facebook <svg> </svg> </a> </li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/HistoryExtra">Visit us on Twitter <svg> </svg> </a> </li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/historyextra">Visit us on Instagram <svg> </svg> </a> </li><li><a href="/feed/atom/">Subscribe to our RSS feed <svg> </svg> </a> </li> </ul>

<ul><li><a href="https://policies.immediate.co.uk/advertising-terms-and-conditions/">Terms &amp; Conditions </a> </li><li><a href="https://policies.immediate.co.uk/privacy/">Privacy Policy </a> </li><li><a href="https://policies.immediate.co.uk/cookies-policy/">Cookie Policy </a> </li><li><a href="http://www.immediate.co.uk/code-of-conduct/">Code of Conduct </a> </li><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/subscribe/">Subscribe </a> </li><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/faq/">FAQ </a> </li><li><a href="https://www.historyextra.com/contact-us/">Contact Us </a> </li><li><a href="https://careers-immediatemedia.icims.com/jobs/">Vacancies </a> </li><li><a href="http://www.immediate.co.uk/service/">Licensing </a> </li><li><a href="http://www.immediate.co.uk/contact-us/">Find Us </a> </li><li><a href="#">Manage cookies </a> </li> </ul>

Bite‑sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Why Is The Shopping Day After Thanksgiving Called 'Black Friday? - HistoryExtra

The Intense Crowding After Thanksgiving

Reimagining The Black Friday Frenzy

What Is Black Friday - History of the Holiday Shopping Phenomenon

How And When Did People Get Married In The Medieval Period?

Black Friday History: The Dark True Story Behind The Name

Bite‑sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Why Is The Shopping Day After Thanksgiving Called 'Black Friday? - HistoryExtra

The Intense Crowding After Thanksgiving

Reimagining The Black Friday Frenzy

What Is Black Friday - History of the Holiday Shopping Phenomenon

How And When Did People Get Married In The Medieval Period?

Black Friday History: The Dark True Story Behind The Name

Bite‑sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career