Are you one of those who takes advantage of all Black Friday offers? Or you don’t care that much for the date? Either way, everyone is curious why a particular November day, specifically the day after Thanksgiving, which always happens on the fourth Thursday November, is known as black Friday. And, moreover, why is it a day when products of various types are offered at very advantageous discounts.
An interesting curiosity, which few people know about, is that the term Black Friday initially referred to financial crises on the US. At that time, and for many centuries, the adjective black was used to portray various kinds of calamities, because of the racism that prevailed not only in the United States, but in many parts of the world.
In the US, the term was first used on September 24, 1869, when two speculators, Jay Gould and James Fisk, tried to take over the gold market on the New York Stock Market. When the government was forced to intervene to correct the distortion by raising the supply of raw materials to the market, prices felt, and many investors lost big fortunes.
It was not until later years that the post-Thanksgiving period became associated with the name. This term first gained popularity in Philadelphia – cops frustrated by the traffic caused by consumers that day began to refer to Black Friday in this way. Actually, there were large crowds of tourists and shoppers in the city the day after Thanksgiving for the Army-Navy football game, creating chaos, traffic jams and shoplifting opportunities.
Shopkeepers evidently did not like to be associated with traffic and pollution. They then decided to repaginate the term for “Big Friday,” according to a local newspaper in 1961. But it didn’t stick.
The term Black Friday has remained restricted to Philadelphia for a surprisingly long time. It only spread from the mid-1990s. And the title of the biggest shopping day of the year came much after, in the 2000s.
If you are coming to Italy in November, you can’t miss the shopping opportunities around the city. And if you stay with us, we have a special offer you won’t believe! Use the promo code BLACK FRIDAY and have 20% discount on your reservation from November 20th to December 12th 2020, on stays until April 1st, 2021 (Only overnight can be canceled within 24 hours).