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

Updated November 2026

Black Friday got its name from the Philadelphia police in the 1950s and early 1960s, who used it to describe the heavy traffic, crowds and long shifts on the day after Thanksgiving. The popular story that stores move from being "in the red" to "in the black" (making a profit) that day came later, as a friendlier explanation. Today Black Friday, which falls on November 27 in 2026, is one of the biggest shopping days in the world.

Black Friday at a Glance

Question	Short answer
What is Black Friday?	The Friday after US Thanksgiving, traditionally the start of the holiday shopping season
Black Friday 2026 date	Friday, November 27, 2026
Where does the name come from?	Philadelphia police slang from the 1950s-1960s for the chaotic day after Thanksgiving
Is the "in the black" story true?	It is a later explanation that became popular in the 1980s, not the origin
Is the slavery story true?	No. There is no historical evidence for it
When did it go global?	Mainly from the 2010s, led by online retailers

What Is Black Friday?

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. Because Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday of November, Black Friday always falls between November 23 and 29. For decades it has marked the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season, with stores offering big discounts to draw shoppers in. It is not a public holiday, but many people have the day off, which is one reason it became such a busy shopping day.

Today the "day" is really a season. Many retailers start early Black Friday deals in late October or early November, and the sales continue through Cyber Monday. You can see this year's dates and offers on our Black Friday deals page.

Why Is It Called Black Friday? The Real Origin

The first "Black Friday" had nothing to do with shopping

The phrase "Black Friday" was used long before it meant a sale. In the 19th century, "black" was often attached to days of disaster. The best-known example is Friday, September 24, 1869, when financiers Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the gold market. When the scheme collapsed, gold prices crashed and many investors were ruined. Newspapers called it Black Friday. This event is not connected to Thanksgiving, but it shows the original, negative meaning of the phrase.

Philadelphia police and the day after Thanksgiving

The shopping meaning comes from Philadelphia. In the 1950s and early 1960s, police officers in the city used "Black Friday" for the day after Thanksgiving. Huge numbers of suburban shoppers and tourists came downtown at the same time, and in many years the Army-Navy football game was played in Philadelphia that weekend, adding even more visitors. Officers had to work long shifts, could not take the day off, and dealt with traffic jams, crowded sidewalks and shoplifting. To them, it was a dark day.

Researchers have found written uses of the term with this meaning from 1961, including a public relations newsletter discussing Philadelphia's traffic problems on the day after Thanksgiving. Local newspapers and other cities picked it up over the following years.

"Big Friday": the rebrand that failed

Philadelphia's merchants did not like a name that made their busiest day sound like a disaster. In the early 1960s they tried to rename it "Big Friday," but the new name never caught on. The police nickname stuck.

The "In the Black" Explanation

The explanation most people know today is about accounting. Bookkeepers once recorded losses in red ink and profits in black ink. According to this story, many retailers ran at a loss ("in the red") for most of the year and only turned a profit ("in the black") on the day after Thanksgiving, when holiday shopping began.

It is a neat story, and it helped turn a negative name into a positive one. But it is not where the name came from. Language researchers have found that this explanation did not become widespread until the 1980s, about two decades after Philadelphia police were already using the term. It also exaggerates the economics: most retailers do not run at a loss for eleven months of the year. The holiday season is very important to them, but it is not the only time they make money.

Black Friday Myths

Myth: Black Friday comes from the slave trade

A story spread on social media claims that the name comes from slaveholders buying enslaved people at a discount on the day after Thanksgiving in the 1800s. Historians and fact-checkers have found no evidence for this. The shopping meaning of "Black Friday" dates to the mid-20th century, long after slavery was abolished in the US.

Myth: Black Friday has always been the biggest shopping day of the year

For much of the 20th century, the Saturday before Christmas was often the busiest shopping day. Black Friday is generally reported to have become the top day in the early to mid-2000s. Today, online spending on Cyber Monday is even larger: Adobe Analytics reported $14.25 billion in US online spending on Cyber Monday 2025, compared with $11.8 billion on Black Friday.

Myth: Black Friday deals only last one day

That has not been true for years. In 2025, Amazon's Black Friday Week and Cyber Monday deals ran for 12 days, and in 2026 several US stores started their first holiday deals at the end of October.

How Thanksgiving Shaped Black Friday

The link between Thanksgiving and holiday shopping goes back to the early 20th century, when department store parades on Thanksgiving Day, ending with Santa Claus, signalled that the Christmas season had begun. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, first held in 1924, reaches its 100th edition on November 26, 2026. You can find current offers on our Macy's discount codes page.

The holiday's date even became political. In 1939, Thanksgiving would have fallen on the last day of November, leaving a short shopping season. President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved it a week earlier to give retailers more time, a change critics nicknamed "Franksgiving." After two years of confusion, Congress fixed Thanksgiving to the fourth Thursday of November in 1941, the rule that still sets the date of Black Friday today.

From Doorbusters to Online Deals

Over the 1980s and 1990s the term spread across the US, and Black Friday became a media event, with news crews filming early-morning lines. Retailers competed with "doorbuster" deals and earlier opening times. By the 2010s, many chains were opening on Thanksgiving evening.

Online shopping changed the event again. In 2005, Shop.org, part of the National Retail Federation, coined "Cyber Monday" for the Monday after Thanksgiving, when online orders spiked. In 2020, during the pandemic, big chains such as Walmart, Target and Best Buy closed their stores on Thanksgiving and moved more of their deals online. Most of them have stayed closed on Thanksgiving since, and Black Friday deals now run for weeks rather than hours.

How Black Friday Became a Global Event

For most of its history, Black Friday was an American tradition, because it depends on US Thanksgiving. That changed in the 2010s, mainly because of online retailers.

• United Kingdom: Amazon began promoting Black Friday deals in the UK around 2010, and other large retailers followed within a few years. It is now one of the busiest shopping periods of the British year.
• Canada: Canadian stores adopted Black Friday to keep shoppers from crossing the border for US deals, even though Canadian Thanksgiving is in October.
• Europe: Germany, France, Spain, Italy and others now hold Black Friday sales, and many retailers stretch them into a "Black Week."
• Latin America: Brazil has a large Black Friday, and Mexico runs its own similar event, El Buen Fin, in November.
• Middle East: some retailers use the name "White Friday" or "Yellow Friday," partly because Friday is a holy day in the region.
• Asia and Australia: Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales have grown quickly, though in China, Singles' Day on November 11 remains the bigger event.

The common thread is that e-commerce removed borders. Once global brands and marketplaces offered the same Black Friday deals worldwide, local shops had to join in.

Black Friday Today

In 2026, Black Friday is on November 27 and is part of a longer stretch that includes Small Business Saturday (November 28), Cyber Monday (November 30) and Giving Tuesday (December 1). Online, it begins weeks earlier: Walmart's Black Friday Deals event starts online on November 23, and several retailers started early deals in late October. The original idea, a single day of crowds and traffic in Philadelphia, has turned into a global season of sales. For the deals that come after the weekend, see our Cyber Monday deals page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called Black Friday?

The name came from Philadelphia police in the 1950s and 1960s, who used it for the crowds, traffic and long shifts on the day after Thanksgiving.

Does Black Friday mean stores go "into the black"?

That is a popular explanation, but it appeared later. It became widespread in the 1980s, after the police meaning was already in use.

Is it true that Black Friday is linked to slavery?

No. There is no historical evidence for that claim. The shopping meaning of the term dates from the mid-1900s.

When did Black Friday start?

The day after Thanksgiving has been a big shopping day since at least the early 20th century. The name "Black Friday" for it appeared in Philadelphia in the 1950s and 1960s and spread nationally in the 1980s.

When is Black Friday 2026?

Black Friday 2026 is on Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving on November 26.

Conclusion

Black Friday's name started as a complaint from Philadelphia police, was given a profit-themed makeover by retailers, and has picked up a few myths along the way. What began as one crowded day in one city is now a worldwide sales season. If you are shopping this year, our Black Friday page and store pages list the latest offers as retailers release them.