Black Friday 2023: When is Black Friday? Know interesting facts about the shopping day

Ready for some retail therapy this Black Friday? Know when to celebrate the annual shopping festival and interesting facts about it.

The Black Friday shopping frenzy is about to begin as crowds will gather to their favourite stores and malls to get the best deals and discounts. Every year, a day after Thanksgiving in US, this annual shopping day is celebrated with much enthusiasm by people. While Black Friday is looked forward to people for not just retail therapy but to connect with friends and family. No wonder, there is a mix of excitement and chaos in the stores as bargain hunters try to make the most of the available deals. (Also read | Black Friday 2023: Fun ways to celebrate the day apart from shopping)

Black Friday falls a day after the festival of Thanksgiving, the traditional US holiday where people gather to express gratitude over a delicious meal with traditional delicacies (Shutterstock)

When is Black Friday in 2023?

Black Friday falls a day after the festival of Thanksgiving, the traditional US holiday where people gather to express gratitude over a delicious meal with traditional delicacies like roast turkey apart from other dishes. Unlike earlier years, the advent of online shopping has also allowed people to shop from their comforts of home on Black Friday for a hassle-free shopping experience. This year Thanksgiving is being celebrated on November 23, 2023, while Black Friday falls on November 24, 2023.

The preparation for Christmas starts a month in advance with Black Friday as people inaugurate the shopping season availing massive discounts offered by retailers, both in physical stores and online.

Origin of Black Friday

The term Black Friday originated way back in the 1960s and early 1970s in Philadelphia when the festive vibe of Thanksgiving spilled over to the weekends with people shopping for Christmas and eating out with their family and friends which resulted in chaos on the streets making it difficult for policemen and bus drivers to handle the crowd, and cases of shoplifting and parking violations also happened. No wonder, they coined the term 'Black Friday' to describe their never-ending shifts.

While Black Friday was re-branded Big Friday for some time by department stores eager to make it sound positive, the retailers preferred the term Black Friday as the day when their ledgers were 'in the black' or in profit and 'not in the red' or in loss.