What came first the chicken or the egg? Did Thanksgiving really start in the 1600's or is it just a day to eat till you pop to store up the foodstuffs to create the energy that you will need to bully your way through the stores on, drum roll please, BLACK FRIDAY! Where did this term and frightening consequences come from?
The term "Black Friday" was first used on Sept. 24, 1869, when two investors, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, drove up the price of gold and caused a crash that day. The stock market dropped 20% and foreign trade stopped. Farmers suffered a 50% dip in wheat and corn harvest value. There are other black Fridays in history but for the sake of not dragging this post out and sticking to the inspiration that caused me to do it lets stay on point.
The phrase as it applies to modern day is attributed to the Philadelphia police in 1961 because the shopping day after Thanksgiving created heavy traffic and mayhem and their day became a nightmare! Also, many say that it is because that is the day that many retailers see it as the day that their business turns from the RED to the BLACK. So you can choose your own reason. However, regardless of what your choice is....It is chaos breed with greed with a massive pinch of dog eat dog that maniacal activities are spurned from.
I tried experiencing this craziness one time. I came away with one concrete understanding. I'll never ever do that again!! The family will get what I can afford when I shop under reasonable circumstances and return home without bruises, contusions and reoccurring nightmares for the coming year. I elect to not have to sign up for Sumo wrestling lessons to survive Black Friday just to save a few bucks. The people I will be gifting to will never know that they got a package of socks instead of a 50" TV.
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