Black Friday in United States

Black Friday is a busy shopping day for many people. ©iStockphoto.com/ zeeyy

What do people do?

Many people have a day off work or choose to take a day from their quota of annual leave on Black Friday. Some people use this to make trips to see family members or friends who live in other areas or to go on vacation. Others use it to start shopping for the Christmas season.

In the United States, it is very popular to start Christmas shopping on Black Friday. Many stores have special offers with very low prices on some goods, particularly on electronics and popular toys. Traditionally, people bought these as Christmas gifts, although now many are re-sold on internet sites. Many stores only have a few of the most popular items at very low prices. This means that some people choose to queue from very early in the morning or even overnight to make sure that they will be at the front of the queue when a particular store opens. Sometimes there are large skirmishes to get to the door when the store opens.

Public life

Black Friday is not a federal holiday. However, many organizations shut for the Thanksgiving weekend. In addition, many people take a day of their annual leave on the day after Thanksgiving. If you will need a particular service on Black Friday, it is wise to check carefully whether the organization or company will be open as normal. Public transit systems may run on their normal schedule or may have changes.

As shopping is a very popular activity on Black Friday and many stores have sales or special bargains, it can be incredibly busy in stores and malls. Some stores have extended opening hours to cope with the extra shoppers. There can also be congestion on roads to popular shopping destinations.

Background

Many people think that Black Friday is the busiest shopping day in the year. It has, for many years, been a popular day for many people visit brick-and-mortar stores. However, it has been said that the day on which most money was spent was usually the Saturday before Christmas.

There are two popular theories as to why the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. One theory says that it is because of the extremely heavy traffic on the roads on this day. The wheels of the vehicles left a lot of black markings on the road surface, leading to the term Black Friday.

The other theory is that it comes from an old-fashioned way of recording business accounts. Losses were recorded in red ink and profits in black ink. Many businesses, particularly small retail stores, only started making profits in the run up to Christmas. Many hoped that they would start showing a profit, which could be marked in black ink, on the day after Thanksgiving. This theory does not apply to many large corporations, but may be a fact of life for smaller businesses.

The events on Black Friday are often followed closely by the local media. Television shows may show films of people queuing at night and then emerging victoriously from the store with the items they wanted to purchase. The large number of people shopping and the competition to obtain the cheapest goods means that some people now avoid the stores on Black Friday. Some groups organize a "Buy Nothing Day" on Black Friday to protest at the increasing level of consumerism in the USA and Canada.

Black Friday Observances

Other holidays in November 2009 in United States

• All Saints (Sunday, November 1, 2009)
• Daylight Saving Time ends (Sunday, November 1, 2009)
• All Saints' Day (Sunday, November 1, 2009)
• All Souls' Day (Monday, November 2, 2009)
• International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict (Friday, November 6, 2009)
• World Science Day for Peace and Development (Tuesday, November 10, 2009)
• Veterans Day (Wednesday, November 11, 2009)
• World Diabetes Day (Saturday, November 14, 2009)
• World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (Sunday, November 15, 2009)
• International Day for Tolerance (Monday, November 16, 2009)
• World Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Day (Wednesday, November 18, 2009)
• World Philosophy Day (Thursday, November 19, 2009)
• International Men's Day (Thursday, November 19, 2009)
• Africa Industrialization Day (Friday, November 20, 2009)
• Universal Children's Day (Friday, November 20, 2009)
• World Television Day (Saturday, November 21, 2009)
• International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (Wednesday, November 25, 2009)
• Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 26, 2009)
• Eid-al-Adha (Saturday, November 28, 2009)
• First Sunday Advent (Sunday, November 29, 2009)
• International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (Sunday, November 29, 2009)

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