- Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, but it wasn't always such a widespread event.
- Before it became about massive crowds and insane sales, the day after Thanksgiving was popular among shoppers in New York because of advertisements posted during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
- Black Friday has since evolved into its own holiday — and people either love it or hate it.
Most people spend Thanksgiving at home, enjoying time with family and friends, indulging in a big meal, and maybe taking a nap. So, what's a better way to spend the day after a relaxing Thanksgiving than waking up at the crack of dawn to brave massive crowds at superstores? That's Black Friday, in a nutshell.
Today, Black Friday is one of the most popular shopping days of the year, but the unofficial shopping holiday dates back much farther than you might think. The day after Thanksgiving first became popular for shoppers in the late 1920s, when Macy's advertised holiday sales during its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. From there, the holiday evolved into the bargain hunter's dream that it is today.
Keep reading for the full history of Black Friday in the US.
Black Friday is arguably the most famous shopping day of the year in the US. Today, the day after Thanksgiving is known for massive crowds and insane deals, although it started out much smaller.
The first major post-Thanksgiving Day shopping advertisements came from Macy's department store during their annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, which began in 1924. The name "Black Friday" wouldn't come along until decades later.
Source: TIME
By the 1930s, the day after Thanksgiving was a popular shopping day, although the Great Depression dramatically slowed the retail industry in general.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider