Black Friday, its origins and history, between hoaxes and reality

Black Friday has arrived, or rather the long-awaited "Black Friday" by shopping enthusiasts and by those who, more simply, are looking for a bargain before the big purchases in view of the upcoming holidays. Waiting for customers, like every year, are big discounts and tempting opportunities that tempt the wallet . But when was this appointment with savings born? What is its story?

The origins of this celebration are rooted in the United States . It takes place on the Friday following Thanksgiving Day and was created in 1924 by the department stores of the Macy's chain to inaugurate Christmas shopping. Dizzying discounts were offered inside the mall which attracted thousands of people. Macy's example was then emulated by many other shops but many years passed before it went viral. The real boom occurred in the 80s, when the day won the title of "American national event" and thanks to the Internet, it has now spread all over the world, even in Sardinia.

Various hypotheses have been formulated about the origins of the name . Some think the term originated in Philadelphia in 1961 , when the shopping streets were being stormed . The black would be linked to the traffic and the inconvenience created by the crowds queuing outside the shops and department stores, which had offered discounts of up to 80% for the occasion. Others instead attribute the origin of the name to the companies' Black Friday , in which employees called themselves sick and did not show up at the workplace in order to take advantage of the bargain prices.

According to another hypothesis, the most accredited, the black color would be connected to the cash registers and the accounting books of the shops, which on that day of the year began to constantly register the + sign in dark ink and to "color" in black , while on the other days the various losses marked in red ink also appeared.

Then there is another version, however considered an urban legend , born with a meme on the web, which indicates the origins of the name on the day of the year in which the slaves were sold off and the rich owners, after Thanksgiving, prepared for the winter with the search for new workforce for the plantations, taking advantage of a discounted price from the slavers.

(Unioneonline/vf)