Black Friday
Mark K November 23rd, 2007
Since when did they start calling the day after Thanksgiving “Black Friday”?
It struck me as an odd term for one of the busiest shopping days of the year - after all “Black Tuesday” was the name given to the day when the stock market crashed in 1929. As I began asking friends what they think the name means, they came up with two theories: some feel that the “black” refers to “being in the black” as opposed to “being in the red” - that business owners are hoping that sales from this day will insure them a profitable year.
Others believe that “black” describes the horror of seeing hordes of shoppers invading stores as early as 4:30 in the morning, trampling one another in an effort to put their hands on special items which are on sale for this day only.
My daughter and my sister decided to brave the crowds on Black Friday and I tagged along for a few minutes just to see what the experience was like. After that I branched off and took this picture of the shopping mobs being sucked up the vortex of the spiral escalator at the San Francisco Centre. Of course I was just an observer, documenting the scene and chuckling at the fools caught up in the craziness.
I took the escalator up a floor or two, just in case I might find something interesting and before I knew it, I was swept along with the human tide to the tune of a $200 plus shoe purchase from The Walking Company. I had resisted the impulse to buy something for a full fifteen minutes!
The shoes are black, my checking account is a little in the red, and I’m still not sure why they call it Black Friday.
