Black Friday: Why The Weird Name?

Question:  

Why is the day after Thanksgiving Called "Black Friday?"

Background:

Shopping on the day after Thanksgiving has been around at least as long as the movie "A Christmas Story," possibly much longer.

Why Do They Call it Black Friday

Back in the days of Ralphie and the guys its seemed like a pretty happy thing.  There were parades, sitting on Santa's lap etc.  Then, in the mid-2000's everyone started calling the day after Thanksgiving "Black Friday."  Why?

So What's the Answer?

For those of us at the Small Detail Consortium (SDC) who've never cared for malls or long lines at the cosmetics counter, Black Friday seems a fitting name.  Why, we ask, get up at 6:00 in the morning to battle with 40,000 other people willing to get up at 6:00 in the morning to battle over products that you can get at that price at any time on ebay while sitting at home in your underwear?  

The answer though, is a bit of a surprise.  The phrase "Black Friday" can be traced all the way back to 1961, when the Philadelphia Police Department is first credited with having used it to describe the crowds and traffic downtown.  How cool and useless is that detail?

So, next time your wading through the Black Friday crowd and you see a police cruiser roll by, hats off.  Those guys saw it coming a mile away.

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