"Black Friday" by Addison Jordan

Summary: Did you ever wonder why the day after Thanksgiving is commonly referred to as “Black Friday"?  In the past, the word “black” in front of a day of the week has almost never meant anything good.

Black Monday was the day before the stock market crashed in 1929. Black Wednesday was a day that referred to widespread air traffic confusion in 1954 and also the day that the British government was forced to get out of a pounding from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism in 1992. Previousl, Black Thursday has been associated with days of horrible brush fires, bombings, athletic losses, and other horrible circumstances. 

Black Friday in general was not used as a day where something good happened. It was first used in a New York article referring to the day the gold market collapsed in September 1869.

The executive producer of Vocabulary.com, Ben Zimmer says Black Friday’s association with shopping the day after Thanksgiving began in Philadelphia in the 1960s, and ironically even then the reference wasn’t positive. The police began calling the day after Thanksgiving “Black Friday” because they had to deal with bad traffic and other miseries connected to the large groups of shoppers heading for the stores that day.  Now countless numbers of shoppers head for the malls and retail outlets to look for deals.  For retailers, it must be like a dream come true!

Analysis: It is very interesting to see the different roots and origins of words and phrases. I didn’t know that there was even such a reference as “Black Monday” or “Black Tuesday”, I just knew about Black Friday.  I usually don’t go shopping on Black Friday, but maybe this year, I will.  I will be sure to think of it as a good day.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/business/the-transformation-of-black-friday.html?ref=us&_r=0