It's a gray Friday, and I'm not referring to the weather. The signs and banners of advertisement for Black Friday are all in play, and have been for a few days now, and we're still two weeks away from black Friday... so I can call it gray, or even dark gray, now, right?
Black Friday got its name back in the 1960s in Philadelphia, where police used it to describe the crazy crowds and traffic chaos on the day after Thanksgiving as people flooded the streets to start their holiday shopping — not exactly flattering. Later, retailers gave it a positive spin, tying it to the idea of businesses going in the black, as opposed to in the red, thanks to all those eager shoppers. Over time, the term stuck, and now it’s synonymous with massive sales and discounts, kicking off the holiday shopping season.
There are other special Fridays, too. Some Fridays are tied to religious or historical events, and others are culturally or commercially defined: Good Friday, Casual Friday, Fish Friday, Freedom Friday, Orange Friday, Blue Friday, etc.
