Black Friday originates from the United States. The shopping event is tied to the day after Thanksgiving, which falls on the fourth Thursday of November.

Historical Roots

The term "Black Friday" first appeared in 1869, describing a financial crash on Wall Street when speculators Jay Gould and Jim Fisk tried to corner the gold market, leading to a massive stock drop. In the 1950s, Philadelphia police revived it negatively to describe overwhelming crowds of shoppers and tourists before the Army-Navy football game, straining city resources. Retailers later reframed it positively in the 1980s as the day stores moved from financial "red ink" (losses) to "black ink" (profits), though this accounting myth isn't the true origin.

Evolution into a Global Phenomenon

By the late 20th century, Black Friday became a massive U.S. retail event with deep discounts on electronics, clothes, and more, drawing huge in-store crowds. It spread worldwide via e-commerce giants like Amazon, turning it into "Black November" or online sales marathons in places like Europe, despite no Thanksgiving connection elsewhere. Today, on January 5, 2026, it remains a trending topic with 2025 sales data showing record online spending, sparking forum debates on its commercialization.

Key Myths vs. Facts

  • Myth: Named for profits turning "black." Fact: That's a later retail spin; real origins are darker (crash, chaos).
  • Myth: Purely American, irrelevant abroad. Fact: Now global, with Europeans adopting it for deals, though some Redditors gripe about forced hype.
  • U.S.-Specific Twist: Tied to Thanksgiving, a federal holiday since 1941, making the Friday a prime shopping day off.

"There was no defining moment that made us call Black Friday ‘Black Friday.’ It’s really the evolution of language and definition, retail practices and consumers responding to that." – Historian Nancy Koehn

Trending Context

Recent forum chatter, like Reddit's 2025 threads, questions its relevance outside the U.S., with users calling it a "corporate invention" yet hunting deals anyway. Multiple viewpoints highlight its shift from chaotic local event to a worldwide economic driver, boosting GDP but criticized for overconsumption.

TL;DR: Black Friday started in the U.S. from a 19th-century crash and 1950s crowd chaos, evolving into global shopping madness—roots firmly American despite worldwide adoption.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.