# When did Black Friday start? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-black-friday-start/772882 "2016-11-24T14:11:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Brodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Brodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brodi)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-black-friday-start/772882/1 "2016-11-24T14:11:39Z")
When did the Friday after Thanksgiving become known as Black Friday and was it always this insane? You know, people lining up at like 5:00am, stampedes that sometimes end in fatalities, etc. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-black-friday-start/772882/2 "2016-11-24T14:30:38Z")
> **[Black Friday History and Statistics](https://blackfriday.com/news/black-friday-history)** > > A look back at how Black Friday began, how it's become so popular and how much shoppers are spending. \*"The term “Black Friday” was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to stores moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season. In the 1960’s, police in Philadelphia griped about the congested streets, clogged with motorists and pedestrians, calling it “Black Friday.”"\* ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-black-friday-start/772882/3 "2016-11-24T15:01:54Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > [Black Friday History and Statistics | BlackFriday.com](https://blackfriday.com/pages/black-friday-history) > > \*"The term “Black Friday” was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to stores moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season. > > In the 1960’s, police in Philadelphia griped about the congested streets, clogged with motorists and pedestrians, calling it “Black Friday.”"\* That source is not entirely factual. The meaning of the stores financially going into the “red” from the “black” doesn’t start until the 1980’s. A better source is [_Ben Zimmer’s blog_–](http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/the-origins-of-black-friday/) And, notice his shout out to our own **Tammi Terrell** for all the research. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-black-friday-start/772882/4 "2016-11-24T21:18:40Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > That source is not entirely factual. The meaning of the stores financially going into the “red” from the “black” doesn’t start until the 1980’s. > > A better source is [_Ben Zimmer’s blog_–](http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/the-origins-of-black-friday/) > > And, notice his shout out to our own **Tammi Terrell** for all the research. I worked for The Emporium Department Stores, part of a major chain in California, starting in 1974. And the Christmas season was referred as the Black season, and Friday as Black Friday. Also the day after Christmas was called Black day. Which day was the biggest shopping depended on which day of the week Christmas fell. The old joke among store employees was the was the only excuse accepted for not working the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas was if you had died. And then only if you brought in your death certificate, and as long as you were there… Stores did open early usually 8:00 AM. Oh and another thing the display department did not get Thanksgiving off. They spent the whole day changing the store from Thanksgiving sales to Christmas decorations and sales. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-black-friday-start/772882/5 "2016-11-24T21:39:23Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > Oh and another thing the display department did not get Thanksgiving off. They spent the whole day changing the store from Thanksgiving sales to Christmas decorations and sales. I worked in the Display Department for a few years back in the '60s. It took us the entire post-Thanksgiving weekend to set up all the Christmas displays. I think we even had to work on Thanksgiving, while the store was closed. ---
**Author:** ![Snnipe\_70E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@Snnipe\_70E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snnipe_70E)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-black-friday-start/772882/6 "2016-11-25T03:08:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I worked in the Display Department for a few years back in the '60s. It took us the entire post-Thanksgiving weekend to set up all the Christmas displays. I think we even had to work on Thanksgiving, while the store was closed. It was just the finishing touches that we put throughout the rest of the week end. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-black-friday-start/772882/7 "2016-11-25T17:27:10Z")
Just after midnight, November 24th.