The term “Black Friday”

The term “Black Friday” originated with Philadelphia police in the mid-20th century to describe the chaos of heavy traffic and overcrowded sidewalks on the day after Thanksgiving. The now-popular association with retailers moving from being “in the red” (at a loss) to “in the black” (making a profit) is a later rebranding effort from the 1980s.

Army-Navy Game: The annual Army-Navy football game was traditionally held in Philadelphia on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Many visitors came into the city a day early, adding to the shopping frenzy and the general mayhem that police officers had to manage, often working overtime.

Initial Negativ Connotatione: The term was not a positive one; it was slang that reflected a day of dread and an overwhelming workload for law enforcement and retail workers. Retailers initially tried to change the name to “Big Friday” to remove the negative association, but it did not stick.

The Rebranding (1980s)
By the late 1980s, the term “Black Friday” gained nationwide popularity, but with a new, more positive meaning for retailers. The narrative was successfully shifted to the idea that: Businesses recorded their financial losses in red ink and profits in black ink.
The surge in sales on the day after Thanksgiving was enough to push stores into profitability for the year, or “into the black”. This retail-focused explanation helped transform the phrase into the name of the major sales event we know today, largely obscuring its chaotic origins.

Other Uses of the Term
It’s also worth noting that the earliest recorded use of the term “Black Friday” actually referred to a financial crisis completely unrelated to shopping:
The Gold Market Crash of 1869: On Friday, September 24, 1869, two Wall Street financiers attempted to corner the gold market. When the U.S. government intervened, the market crashed, causing widespread bankruptcies and earning the day the name “Black Friday”. This historical event has no direct link to the retail phenomenon, beyond the shared use of the word “black” to describe a negative event (before the retail rebranding).

Taken from various online sources which may or may not be correct.

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