Discover how Black Friday originated from the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia and transformed into a major retail shopping event.
TEMPLE, Texas — Did you know the origin of the term Black Friday has nothing to do with shopping? According to Encyclopedia Britannica, the term emerged from the annual Army-Navy game taking place in Philadelphia.
The Power of Retail
Historically, the day after Thanksgiving has always been one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Department stores, which dominated the retail market in the United States in the early 1900s, started advertising Christmas-related items immediately after Thanksgiving, which used to take place on the last Thursday of November.
There were five Thursdays in November that year, making Thanksgiving land on Nov. 30 and striking concern into the heart of the retail industry. Retailers were afraid that people would have less time to shop between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
So, retail companies successfully lobbied to have the …