BLACK FRIDAY

I'm sure you're reading a lot about Black Friday sales everywhere. Adverts, promotions, discounts, sales... all of them under the name of Black Friday. Spanish stores have been announcing this promotional day for weeks, Facebook or twitter accounts remind us of the important day and television and radio ads are making sure none of us forget that this weekend is the perfect weekend to save money in our purchases. 

But..what is BLACK FRIDAY? Where does this come from? Whose tradition is this? What are its origins? 

As most of you may know, the last Thursday of November, American people celebrate THANKSGIVING. In Thanksgiving, American people commemorate all the things pilgrims had when they arrived to New England. Read more information here:  Thanksgiving post 

Considering this special night in the States, the following day has to be special too and that is why the next day (Friday) is a special Friday called BLACK FRIDAY. Why is it special? It's considered the beginning of the Christmas season and  many stores sell products with big discounts and great offers. People spend that day shopping and spending  time with their families or friends. It is not an official holiday but in some states citizens have Thanksgiving (Thursday) day and Black Friday off. 

WHY BLACK? Why did they call it Black? There are many theories. At first it was believed that it refered to the sale of slaves in America . However, that was not true. One theory was that it came from the "black" traffic and pedestrian congestion that usually took place that day. Other theory and the most common one was that retailers were at a financial loss from January to November (in the red) and that Friday after Thanksgiving was the point in which retailers started to make profit again and their finances were IN THE BLACK again.