What is Black Friday

Black Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States. With it begins the traditional Christmas season of sales. They established the custom of arranging sales on this day in the XIX century, and the term 'Black Friday' appeared in 1966 and was initially used mainly on the East Coast of the United States. Due to the fact that Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday of November, Black Friday falls in the period from November 23 to 29.

Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many workers take time off on this day, except retail employees, since on this day the flow of customers increases significantly. On Black Friday, stores open very early – around 5 am, and some of the largest retail chains – even at midnight. They offered the first buyers serious discounts - from 50 to 80% - they do this in order to attract as many customers as possible to the stores.

The term 'Black Friday' first appeared in Philadelphia and meant heavy traffic congestion on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The modern interpretation of this term in English is more positive – it is associated with the idiom 'in the black' (that is, 'positive balance', as opposed to 'in the red), implying that many sellers will 'go into the black' on this day.

Since the 2010s, a number of companies have been holding similar sales in Russia.