Black Friday??

The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In the
context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government (of a
hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred to a holiday
in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of shopping as it is the
first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a reporter
trying to bolster her story?
--
cheers,

John B.

On 3/13/2020 3:50 PM, John B. wrote:

The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In the
context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government (of a
hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred to a holiday
in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of shopping as it is the
first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a reporter
trying to bolster her story?
--
cheers,

John B.

"Black Friday" is an informal name (i.e. not official, but widely used)
for the day after Thanksgiving Day [1] in the US. Much of the US
population has a paid holiday that day, if they have paid holidays at all.

That and the proximity to Christmas make it a major day for retail sales
in the US; the name reportedly refers to the day retailers first "make
it into the black," i.e. profitability, for the year, whether or not
this actually occurs.

It is heavily hyped by retailers; loss-leader specials are advertised
heavily. Shopping frenzies are a news staple that day.

[1]Which /is/ a legal holiday in the US, the fourth Thursday in November.

Mark J.

On Sat, 14 Mar 2020 05:50:59 +0700, John B
wrote:

The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In
the context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government
(of a hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred
to a holiday in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of
shopping as it is the first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a
reporter trying to bolster her story?

Seriously? "Black Friday" is perhaps the single most important day
in retail businesses in the US and is reported not only in US media
but internationally. Where the heck do you live that you don't
hear about this? Cyber Monday, No Buy November, etc., are
imitators and detractors.

When I was a kid (in the olden days, grumble grumble) in Chicago
the Friday after Thanksgiving was the official start of the
Christmas shopping season. The major department stores downtown
revealed their holiday display windows with pomp and circumstance,
live TV coverage, speeches by the mayor, yadda yadda yadda. People
who weren't downtown to shop watched it on TV. The experience was
not unlike the various retail scenes in the original "Miracle on
34th Street" when I was a kid. Maybe post-boomer kids had a
different experience. Teenagers are much older now than when I was
one.

On 3/13/2020 6:50 PM, John B. wrote:

The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In the
context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government (of a
hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred to a holiday
in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of shopping as it is the
first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a reporter
trying to bolster her story?

As others have answered, there is indeed such a thing - in spades. Black
Friday is a monster shopping frenzy, one of the biggest events of the
year in our possession worshiping culture. People camp out for hours
hoping to be among the first 50 in Wal-Mart when the doors open. Because
flat screen TV!!!

It's gotten worse in recent years. Until lately, merchants had the
decency to wait until midnight to open the doors. Now Black Friday
starts about 5 PM on Thanksgiving, at least in some stores. So
possessions are more important than football; and football has been more
important than family for a long time here.

Here's an interesting bit of related history:
https://time.com/3603622/fdr-moved-thanksgiving/
Gotta keep the economy humming!

FWIW, our Thanksgiving is four or five chunks of the extended family
spending a couple days in what was once an old farmhouse. (It's now
totally re-done, modernized and super-insulated. And there's a nice game
room in the barn.) There's a big dinner, of course, and always a long
walk on a gravel road. There are lots of games, and fun playing with kids.

On Friday, the ladies browse little local antique stores. The guys go to
a hot dog shop, then browse the really neat used tool store a few doors
down. I bought a draw knife last year. One of the other guys bought his
first micrometer.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 3/13/2020 5:50 PM, John B. wrote:

The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In the
context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government (of a
hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred to a holiday
in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of shopping as it is the
first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a reporter
trying to bolster her story?
--
cheers,

John B.


It is real, an invention of the marketing and retail
industries (see also Secretaries' Day, which I only know
about because I am a corporate secretary, or the new
Valentine's Day in Japan celebrated by women giving men
chocolate). It's the Friday after Thanksgiving and precedes
Cyber Monday, another recent invention.

None of which has anything to do with the Christian Black
Friday of course.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On 3/13/2020 6:29 PM, Tim McNamara wrote:
On Sat, 14 Mar 2020 05:50:59 +0700, John B
wrote:

The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In
the context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government
(of a hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred
to a holiday in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of
shopping as it is the first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a
reporter trying to bolster her story?

Seriously? "Black Friday" is perhaps the single most important day
in retail businesses in the US and is reported not only in US media
but internationally. Where the heck do you live that you don't
hear about this? Cyber Monday, No Buy November, etc., are
imitators and detractors.

When I was a kid (in the olden days, grumble grumble) in Chicago
the Friday after Thanksgiving was the official start of the
Christmas shopping season. The major department stores downtown
revealed their holiday display windows with pomp and circumstance,
live TV coverage, speeches by the mayor, yadda yadda yadda. People
who weren't downtown to shop watched it on TV. The experience was
not unlike the various retail scenes in the original "Miracle on
34th Street" when I was a kid. Maybe post-boomer kids had a
different experience. Teenagers are much older now than when I was
one.


Our business has never enjoyed sales that day whatsoever.

And I don't recall it as a child, only starting in the late
seventies or so.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Fri, 13 Mar 2020 20:16:52 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/13/2020 6:50 PM, John B. wrote:

The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In the
context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government (of a
hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred to a holiday
in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of shopping as it is the
first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a reporter
trying to bolster her story?

As others have answered, there is indeed such a thing - in spades. Black
Friday is a monster shopping frenzy, one of the biggest events of the
year in our possession worshiping culture. People camp out for hours
hoping to be among the first 50 in Wal-Mart when the doors open. Because
flat screen TV!!!

It's gotten worse in recent years. Until lately, merchants had the
decency to wait until midnight to open the doors. Now Black Friday
starts about 5 PM on Thanksgiving, at least in some stores. So
possessions are more important than football; and football has been more
important than family for a long time here.

Here's an interesting bit of related history:
https://time.com/3603622/fdr-moved-thanksgiving/
Gotta keep the economy humming!

FWIW, our Thanksgiving is four or five chunks of the extended family
spending a couple days in what was once an old farmhouse. (It's now
totally re-done, modernized and super-insulated. And there's a nice game
room in the barn.) There's a big dinner, of course, and always a long
walk on a gravel road. There are lots of games, and fun playing with kids.

On Friday, the ladies browse little local antique stores. The guys go to
a hot dog shop, then browse the really neat used tool store a few doors
down. I bought a draw knife last year. One of the other guys bought his
first micrometer.

I guess I wouldn't fit in if I went back. Thanksgiving as I remember
it was a day for the entire tribe to get together. The women would do
the cooking, captained by Grandma, and the menfolk would sit in the
front room and discuss "things".

About one o'clock dinner would be served and then the ladies would do
the washing up, spurred on by Grandma saying, "No,no, just leave it.
I'll do it tomorrow", and the menfolk would sit about in the living
room burping and belching until about 5:00 when everyone would leave
for home, taking heaps of, "just take a little of this, it'll only
spoil if you leave it".

Other than giving the ladies a chance to exhibit their cooking skills
it got the whole tribe together where they could bring all the kinfolk
up to date on the latest. "George lost his job, but it looks like
he'll get another one at the Post Office"; "Judith thought that she
was pregnant, at the age of 45, but (Thank God) it was just a tumor,
and they already operated"; ....
:-)
--
cheers,

John B.

On Friday, 13 March 2020 18:51:07 UTC-4, John B. wrote:
The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In the
context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government (of a
hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred to a holiday
in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of shopping as it is the
first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a reporter
trying to bolster her story?
--
cheers,

John B.

Here in Canada, especially in Ontario, Black Friday has a far different meaning than it does in the USA. Friday, February 20, 1959 is the date that the then Conservative government cancelled the Avro Arrow CF-105 and the Orenda Iroquois jet engine programs. That date is know as Black Friday and, to quote Roosevelt, is a day that shall live in infamy!

Cheers

On Fri, 13 Mar 2020 19:25:24 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Friday, 13 March 2020 18:51:07 UTC-4, John B. wrote:
The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In the
context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government (of a
hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred to a holiday
in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of shopping as it is the
first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a reporter
trying to bolster her story?
--
cheers,

John B.

Here in Canada, especially in Ontario, Black Friday has a far different meaning than it does in the USA. Friday, February 20, 1959 is the date that the then Conservative government cancelled the Avro Arrow CF-105 and the Orenda Iroquois jet engine programs. That date is know as Black Friday and, to quote Roosevelt, is a day that shall live in infamy!

Cheers

And nearly 30,000 employees were thrown out of work :-(
--
cheers,

John B.

On Friday, 13 March 2020 23:26:56 UTC-4, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 13 Mar 2020 19:25:24 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Friday, 13 March 2020 18:51:07 UTC-4, John B. wrote:
The local news, today, had an article about "Black Friday". In the
context here it "celebrated" a protest against the government (of a
hundred people)but in the body of the article it referred to a holiday
in the U.S. which is celebrated by a frenzy of shopping as it is the
first shopping day before Christmas.

Is there such a thing? Or is this just another example of a reporter
trying to bolster her story?
--
cheers,

John B.

Here in Canada, especially in Ontario, Black Friday has a far different meaning than it does in the USA. Friday, February 20, 1959 is the date that the then Conservative government cancelled the Avro Arrow CF-105 and the Orenda Iroquois jet engine programs. That date is know as Black Friday and, to quote Roosevelt, is a day that shall live in infamy!

Cheers

And nearly 30,000 employees were thrown out of work :-(
--
cheers,

John B.

A lot of those were very highly skilled engineers and some went to Britain and others went to work for NASA and/or the Skunk Works in the USA amongst other airplane makers.

Many Canadian families still won't vote Conservative because of that Black Friday.

Cheers