Black Friday

Okay…I’m going to admit to recycling an old blog and just tweaking it a little because the wife and I had a redeye flight to Mexico last night, and I’m being lazy. But bear with me, because this blog is an oldie, but a goodie. Today is Black Friday, and personally, I think that is a gruesome name for the day. Years ago, I talked with my nephew’s wife at our annual traditional Thanksgiving dinner, where we used to go out to eat instead of the muss and fuss of cooking (we have a new tradition of flying to Mexico on Thanksgiving now). She had a wealth of information on why the day was named Black Friday. Apparently, the name derives from the fact that, for most establishments, the day after Thanksgiving is when they begin to turn a profit or “go into the black.” Now, I thought that was quite interesting, given that when the stock market crashed in 1929, it was called Black Tuesday. Why not Red Tuesday? Wouldn’t that be a more accurate name if you follow the logic of black ink on an income statement means profit and red ink means loss? There was a whole lot of loss happening on the day of the stock market crash. I think we should rename the day to Super Sale Friday, Screaming Deals Friday, or… how about Shop Until You Drop Friday? Then there is…The Day After Thanksgiving. Perhaps that one is too on the nose and not clever enough.

Apparently, the name’s origin is well known, as even those across the pond have cited the reason stated above. But I still needed to do some research for a more complete explanation, because that’s what I do. And…do you know what? My ridiculous notions may be closer to the truth on the origin of the term Black Friday. This is what I learned:

Black Friday first appeared in print in 1966, when a story ran in an ad in The American Philatelist, a stamp collectors’ magazine.During the 1950s, police in Philadelphia began using the term “Black Friday” to refer to the crowds on the sidewalks and the volume of cars on the streets as shoppers and tourists flocked to Philadelphia in advance of the annual Army vs. Navy football game, which was held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In the beginning, retail store owners did not appreciate being associated with the term “Black Friday,” but they must have seen the light after it became a heavy shopping day and a boon to their businesses, so the name stuck.Interestingly enough, another day in history was coined Black Friday, but apparently, that name did not stick. September 24th, 1869, was the very first Black Friday and had nothing to do with profits. In fact, it was the exact opposite. On this day in history, two ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, bought as much of the nation’s gold as they could, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. The conspiracy was unraveled on that Friday, sending the stock market into freefall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers.

Personally, I find every conceivable reason to avoid the crowds on Black Friday, because nothing is less appealing than pushing and shoving to grab that last item on sale. Or how about the craziness of getting up at four in the morning to stand in line, waiting for the doors to open to grab that new TV at a ridiculously low price, but the store only has 10. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating a tad, but not much. Even though I know the history of the name, I’m an author so I’m going to stick to my story that either some poor little old lady probably lost her life in her quest for the perfect gift for her grandson as she dueled over the last Labubu doll or it is aptly named after people like me who would rather have a root canal than get near any store. I know I’m not a retail store, just a lowly author hoping to keep my small publishing house in business, so at least a few are FREE on Kindle Unlimited or well below the $9.99 for a typical, ranging from $3.00 to a mere $6.99 (even for my most recent releases). The others, I think, are also reasonably priced. So make this a profitable Black Friday for Affinity Rainbow Publications, and click the links below to shop! Spoiler alert for those who read The Thanksgiving Baby Caper…Char and Toni have a baby, and she shows up in The Next Generation series.

The Invisible Woman: A Lesbian Superhero Story

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