Were you among the crowds camped outside retail stores early this morning, hoping to cash in on Black Friday deals? Perhaps you can even see yourself reflected in these Christmas ornaments hanging in New York City’s Macy’s department store. The day after Thanksgiving is big business for retailers. Last year, 174 million Americans shopped on Black Friday weekend, according to the National Retail Federation, presumably moving retailers’ balance sheets from red (losses) to black (profits). But the term ‘Black Friday’ has a darker history. It was originally used to describe a financial crisis in 1869, and later adopted by Philadelphia police to describe post-Thanksgiving chaos at department stores in their city. Retailers later co-opted the phrase ‘Black Friday,’ giving it more positive connotations–a shift toward profitability at the start of the crucial holiday shopping season.
Let the holiday shopping commence
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Celebrating a Paris landmark
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Sea lion in a kelp forest, Baja California, Mexico
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Where the glow of the holidays lingers
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Let the Highland games begin
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A treaty for science
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Shhh, the movie is about to start
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Bright and colorful peacock feathers
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Venice Skatepark, Los Angeles, California
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It’s Giving Tuesday
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World Penguin Day
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Welcome to California
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International Day of the Tropics
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Midwinter freeze
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Channel Country, Australia
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Computer Science EDU Week
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Ceremony Hall at Sweden s Icehotel
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National Park Week begins
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Let the harvest begin
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National Llama Day
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Black History Month
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National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
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International Whale Shark Day
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National Umbrella Day
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Te Rewa Rewa Bridge near New Plymouth, New Zealand
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Nesting season for the leatherbacks
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A lush, green escape
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Patriot Day
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Is this Minecraft headquarters?
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National Bird Day
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International Polar Bear Day