About Black Friday 2023

It traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season in the United States. Many stores offer highly promoted sales at discounted prices and often open early, sometimes as early as midnight or even on Thanksgiving.

In the 1960s, police officers began to describe the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday due to the overwhelming amount of traffic. The phrase “Black Friday” began in Philadelphia in the 1950s and '60s, according to The New York Times.

It is believed by many that the term Black Friday derives from the concept that businesses operate at a financial loss, or are “in the red,” until the day after Thanksgiving, when massive sales finally allow them to turn a profit, or put them “in the black.