Over time, Thanksgiving parades came to mark the unofficial start of that season. When President Abraham Lincoln issued the proclamation establishing Thanksgiving in , he decreed the holiday would fall on the last Thursday of November. And it did until when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order to move Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November.
Congress passed legislation to make the change official in Why did Roosevelt move Thanksgiving one week earlier, and why did Congress acquiesce to the change?
Because a powerful coalition of retailers and other business interests asked them to. By this time, the holiday shopping season was synonymous with the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
When Thanksgiving fell on November 30, as it did in , that left only 24 holiday shopping days — and sometimes fewer, as many stores closed on Sundays back then. Naturally, this worried retailers and retail-adjacent businesses, who reasoned that busy holiday shoppers would simply shop less in a shorter season. Their pitch to Roosevelt was more egalitarian: A longer holiday shopping season would be good for the American economy. That sounds dubious, but remember that the United States was still struggling to shake off the aftereffects of the Great Depression back in the late s.
In , two unscrupulous oligarchs conspired to corner the American gold market, which was at that time the basis for the U. Their scheme was so elaborate and far-reaching that members of then-president Ulysses S.
The plot finally unraveled on Friday, September 24, sending U. In s Philadelphia, Thanksgiving weekend was a mob scene. The Army and Navy college football teams celebrated their fierce rivalry each year with a neutral-ground clash in Philly on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The day before, thousands of people from surrounding communities — as well as Army or Navy devotees from farther afield — flooded the city in anticipation of the big game. Even in a big city like Philadelphia, the annual wave of shoppers and fans was enough to clog streets and strain local health and safety resources. As retailers grew, merged, and sprouted roots in the suburbs, the term spread to other cities and eventually entered the national lexicon.
Its evolution reflects socioeconomic shifts that have fundamentally altered the fabric of American society. When Roosevelt and Congress moved Thanksgiving back a week, holiday shopping was a pretty straightforward affair. Brick-and-mortar retailers clustered in city centers, often in compact retail districts or broad commercial avenues. Smaller cities and towns had small — but still vibrant — shopping districts where locals could get most of what they needed for the holidays.
To get luxury and specialty items, folks who lived out in the sticks had to travel to the nearest big city or use mail-order shopping catalogs, the precursors of online retail. Big-city shopping districts were anchored by department stores — vast, multistory temples to commerce.
Department stores sold clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, home goods, appliances, and much more. With a single visit to a department store and a few side trips to specialty retailers, you could take care of your entire holiday shopping list in a single day. The day after Thanksgiving was a natural time for shoppers to head into town and hit the department store.
At one point, Alabama alone had about a dozen homegrown department store chains. To entice shoppers out of their turkey-induced slumber, every store ran its own post-Thanksgiving promotions. Even before it got its name, Black Friday was a day for deals.
Roosevelt to move the Thanksgiving holiday up to the fourth Thursday. Unfortunately, by this time it was late October. Most people had already made their plans. Some were so upset that they called the holiday "Franksgiving" instead. Only 32 states followed FDR's move. Others celebrated two holidays, which forced some companies to give their employees an extra day off. In , Congress ended the confusion. It passed a law that made Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November no matter what.
In the s, people began calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving, essentially giving themselves a four-day weekend.
Since stores were open, as were most businesses, those playing hooky could also get a head start on their holiday shopping. Rather than try to determine whose pay should be cut, and who was legitimately sick, many businesses started adding that day as another paid holiday. In , the Black Friday name became famous in print. That's when a story appeared in an ad in The American Philatelist, a stamp collectors' magazine.
The Philadelphia Police Department used the name to describe the traffic jams and crowding in the downtown stores. In , an internet meme created a myth about Black Friday and slaves. It falsely claimed slave traders gave discounts at auctions on the day after Thanksgiving.
Historically, shoppers did half their holiday shopping on Black Friday. In , holiday sales fell 4. That's the first time sales dropped since the NRF began tracking in Amazon and Walmart were the places to grab the best Black Friday deals. Black Friday Traditions Waiting in line over night Many people carb up on Thanksgiving dinner for the long, dark, cold wait in line outside their favorite store to get in when the doors open on Black Friday.
Aggressive Shopping. Waiting for Cyber Monday. Congrats on your life choices. What is Black Friday? Do you have to wait for Black Friday to get the deals? Black Friday Activities Create a new tradition Establish an annual tradition with friends or family members. Donate winter clothes to people in need Don't want to shop on Black Friday?
Take the Black Friday Quiz. It helps us bond For many Americans, Black Friday isn't so much about the shopping as the tradition of getting up before the sun rises and doing a fun activity together with friends or family members. It gives us seriously great deals Black Friday may be the holiday we love to hate, but the deals are undeniably awesome. Black Friday related holidays Mon Jun Mon Nov Thu Aug Black Friday.
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