Even though I work for an online retail company, the significance of Black Friday was lost on me until recently. Whenever I heard the term, it reminded me of the famous Black Tuesday of October 29, 1929 when the stock market crashed. (Hmmm!) Unemployment soared (Double hmmm!), and the world sank into depression. (Triple hmmm!) So I couldn’t understand why the day after Thanksgiving was called Black Friday.
I was aware that traditionally many people start their holiday shopping on that day. I knew traffic in all kinds of stores is brisk with retailers doing everything in their power to attract customers. They decorate their establishments for Christmas in October. They spend big bucks on advance advertising, open early on Black Friday, and offer deep discounts.
But I didn’t make the connection that Black Friday got its name because it signals that period of the year when retailers’ bottom lines move from red to black. When many companies begin to see money in their coffers and the sales of the previous eleven months pale by comparison. So, in this case, black stands for profitable, something that is desirable, instead of something that is bleak.
I’m crossing my fingers that this year’s BF holds true to form.
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