Why Is It Called Black Friday? History, Meaning and 2026 Date

Philadelphia police gave Black Friday its name in the 1950s, using it for the crowds and traffic jams that filled the city the day after Thanksgiving. Holiday shoppers poured downtown, and out-of-town fans arrived for the Army-Navy football game that Saturday.

City merchants disliked the gloomy label and tried to rename it "Big Friday" in 1961, but the new name never caught on.¹ The police nickname explains why it's called Black Friday, though other stories about the Black Friday origin still circulate every November.

The sections below explain those myths, then show how a local traffic headache became a date shoppers plan around all year.

Myths About Why It's Called Black Friday

The "in the black" accounting story is the most repeated answer to why Black Friday is called Black Friday, but it appeared decades after the police nickname and isn't where the name came from. Two other myths come from an unrelated event or from no evidence at all.

The "in the black" story

Accountants record losses in red ink and profits in black, so a business "in the black" is making money. The Black Friday version claims stores lost money for most of the year and finally turned a profit the day after Thanksgiving. The earliest known example in print is a 1981 Philadelphia Inquirer article, and retailers spread it nationwide later that decade because it gave the day a cheerier meaning.

The 1869 gold market crash

The phrase "Black Friday" existed long before Philadelphia police used it, but it had nothing to do with shopping. On Friday, September 24, 1869, financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk's plan to corner the US gold market collapsed, and the crash ruined investors from Wall Street to farm towns.¹ The two days share a name and nothing else.

The slavery-era myth

A claim shared widely on social media says plantation owners bought enslaved people at a discount the day after Thanksgiving. History.com says the story has no factual basis, and the name only became tied to Thanksgiving weekend nearly a century after slavery ended in the US.

How Black Friday Became a Shopping Day

Black Friday became a nationwide sale over several decades, shaped first by a change to the Thanksgiving date and later by new sale days built around it. The history of Black Friday below runs from 1939 to 2010 and marks the dates that shaped the shopping weekend.

What Is Black Friday in 2026?

Black Friday is the Friday after US Thanksgiving, so in 2026 it falls on Friday, November 27, traditionally marking the start of the holiday shopping season. The meaning of Black Friday has moved far from a Philadelphia traffic warning.

Our guide answering when is Black Friday maps the 2026 sale week by week, from the first early deals to Cyber Week, and lists the date for every year from 2020 to 2028.

Two other sale days now shape how you shop Black Friday, one later the same weekend and one that arrives months earlier. Cyber Monday follows on November 30 in 2026, and it took off as an online shopping day to match Black Friday's in-store crowds, so the two now work as a pair rather than as rivals.

Our comparison of Black Friday vs Cyber Monday explains which day suits big home appliances and which suits smaller tech and accessories, so you can decide whether to buy on Friday or wait.

Prime Day sits at the other end of the calendar. Amazon holds it in the summer, with a second event in October, so you can buy big items months before Black Friday, and it has become an early rival. The breakdown of Prime Day vs. Black Friday compares which categories tend to be cheaper at each sale and how to decide which month to buy a vacuum.

How Black Friday Spread Beyond the US

The US isn't the only country that does Black Friday, and the sale now runs across much of the world, sometimes under a new name. Canada holds it on the same day as the US. Mexico runs El Buen Fin, a Black Friday-style sale weekend the federal government introduced in 2011.

US-style Black Friday sales reached the UK in the 2010s, when large retailers began copying the American event. Shoppers in the Middle East know it by other names. An online marketplace launched White Friday in 2014 for shoppers across the Gulf and in Egypt, and another introduced Yellow Friday in the UAE in 2018.

How to Find Real Black Friday Deals Today

While shoppers used to line up before dawn from the 1980s onward, finding real Black Friday deals now means deciding what you want before the sales start, then checking the price history to see whether a discount is worth it.

You no longer get the best deal by getting there first. You get it by doing your research, and the tried-and-true tactics below prepare you for promotions that are harder to read and a season crowded with ads.

Write a wishlist with a budget

List the few things you plan to buy and set a ceiling for each one. A written list stops a big headline discount from pulling money toward something you don't need.

Check the price history

Look up what the item sold for over the past two or three months, then compare that with the crossed-out "was" price. The price it usually sold at over that time shows how much you're really saving, which can be more or less than the "was" price suggests.

Compare the total cost

Add shipping and return costs to the sale price, then check how long the warranty runs. A slightly higher price with free returns can cost you less in the end.

Read the fine print on bundles

Check what a bundle includes, then price the main item on its own. If you wouldn't buy the extras separately, the bundle may not save you anything.

If you're weighing one big purchase, the guide on whether Black Friday is worth it explains when a deal pays off and lists seven checks to spot a real one.

What Black Friday's History Means for You Today

Knowing why it's called Black Friday won't change prices, but it can make the hype easier to tune out, especially with the deal-finding tips above.

If a new vacuum is on your list this year, check the Black Friday vacuum deals page to see which Dreame models are in the 2026 sale.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called Black Friday if the sales last all week?

The name came first and refers to the day after Thanksgiving, while the week of sales grew around it as stores started offering deals earlier.

Is Black Friday a federal holiday?

No, but some states, including California, give state employees the day off.

Are Black Friday deals worth it?

They often are for a big purchase you've already planned, and rarely are for an impulse buy. The deal checks above show how to tell the difference.

Is Black Friday online only?

No. Stores and websites both run Black Friday sales, and many shoppers use both.

Is Black Friday the biggest shopping day of the year?

Not always. Black Friday is one of the busiest shopping days of the year, but in the US, online spending now peaks on Cyber Monday instead.

References

1. History.com (2026) What's the Real History of Black Friday? Available at: https://www.history.com/articles/black-friday-thanksgiving-origins-history