The origin of Black Friday

Price comparison service Hintavertailupalvelu conducted a survey about consuming on Black Friday. According to a survey conducted in 2019, all Finns (95.3%) know what a Black Friday is, and a large proportion of consumers plan to shop (62.6%). How many of them knows the origin of Black Friday (BF)? Do you know the history of BF? Honestly, I knew nothing about its history until I delved into the subject for this article. I’m a little ashamed because I’m usually aware of many things. If you’ve read so far then you probably want to read to the end, so you know where this bf comes from. Hold on to something because now we’re digging deep.

There are thousands of stories about the origins of the Black Friday. One explanation for the name Black Friday is the method used in accounting to record capital gains in black, and losses in red. But it can’t be the only reason, right?

There is a dark story behind BF’s history. Here, I think is a plausible story that has been repeated from various reliable sources. As you might know Black Friday is not invented by the Chinese, the Americans are behind the phenomenon. The name Black Friday was used to describe chaos by the police forces in late 1950 that ensued on the day after Thanksgiving. The city of Philadelphia was the first to use the term Black Friday. There was once a year a football match between the Army and the Marine troops, which drew wild crowds and tourists to the city. At that time, road transport was not as advanced as it is today. Due to poor road design, there was congestion which sometimes caused riots. This was a great opportunity for criminal gangs to steal shops, because the police forces were overworked guiding people, as well as keeping some sort of order.

This gave rise to the idea to keep shops open that day, so that tourists can go shopping at discounted prices. As the name Black Friday had a really bad reputation, shop owners tried to improve it by giving people some discounts if they shop. On this single day, the shops made as much profit as they would make in the whole year. Later on, this landed all over America and eventually to the rest of the world. That’s about it for that story. From now on, you know a little about BF origin.

Black Friday has changed terribly, and it is leading us to destruction.

Do you think the way we consume is insane? I do. Overproduction and overconsumption don’t only have a negative impact on the environment, as natural resources are overly abused, but as well on the people who make our clothes. The fashion industry has needed to slow down and rethink itself for a long time. As the way it is now, is not sustainable for our planet.

“If you need to buy something on this day focus on quality rather than quantity. And remember to ask yourself, do I really need this?” (NuarSwim).

I want to know what you think, leave a comment below.

Sincerely yours,