Black Friday: What does it mean and where does it originate?

Taking place in November each year, the day is commonly associated with massive sales ahead of the festive period.

With shoppers across the country getting ready to snag some bargains this week, here is the meaning behind the term ‘Black Friday’.

What is Black Friday and is it a British tradition?

Black Friday was not originally associated with shopping (Getty) (Image: Getty)

Black Friday is the colloquial term used for the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States of America.

This traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season with retailers across the globe offering slashed prices for products.

This tradition originates from America but has quickly grown in popularity in the United Kingdom over the last decade.

Where does the term ‘Black Friday’ come from and what does it mean?

According to NBC News, the term ‘Black Friday’ originally had no connection to shopping with most connoting it with negative events.

Historian Nancy Koehn said that it first described the financial panic of 1869 when the price of gold was driven up so much that a market crash was caused.

The first time the term Black Friday was used for shopping the day after Thanksgiving was in the 1950s when police coined the term.

Black Friday grew in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s (Getty) (Image: Getty)

This happened after police in Philidelphia complained about the influx of people coming into the city to shop the day after Thanksgiving.

From there on, the term was used to describe shopping despite initial protests by retailers who attempted to make the name ‘Big Friday’ catch on.

The term grew popular in the 1970s and 1980s as retailers attempted to compete with one another with their various sales.

Black Friday takes place on Friday, November 24 in 2023 with some sales already having been listed by retailers.