Black Friday has been around for a very long time. It is usually the busiest shopping days of the year. It is also one of the most dangerous shopping days of the year too. It is also ironic that we just spend a time of being thankful and now we are being greedy.

Black Friday

Seen by many as a shopping extravaganza, Black Friday, begins in the wee hours of the morning on the day after Thanksgiving, offering deep discounts on various items, door buster deals and other specials that have customers anxious to raid the aisles. Black Friday is a phenomenon that marks the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, though its history might be rooted in more than just buying gifts for loved ones.

Gold Rush

One story attributes the name of Black Friday to September 24, 1869, when two speculators created a boom and subsequent bust in the gold market. According to the History Channel, rebel speculators Jay Gould and Jim Fisk attempted to control the nation’s gold market. They hoped to drive the price of gold sky high, relying on a corrupt network that extended from Wall Street and the government of New York City all the way to the family of President Ulysses S. Grant. Eventually, the conspiracy unraveled on what became known as “Black Friday.”

Brotherly Love

Other historians say that Black Friday has ties to Philadelphia. According to Bonnie Taylor-Blake, a neuroscience researcher at the University of North Carolina, in the 1950s stores around Philadelphia promoted big sales the day after Thanksgiving when many people were off from work. The sales also were held in advance of the Army/Navy football game that traditionally took place in Philadelphia on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Stores knew that suburban shoppers and football fans would be milling about town during the extended weekend. As a result, traffic cops and other law enforcement personnel had to work 12-hour shifts to corral the extra foot and vehicle traffic around the city. These cops referred to the day as “Black Friday.” Despite city officials’ best efforts to remove any negative connotations and rename the day “Big Friday,” the name “Black Friday” stuck and even spread to other areas of the country.

Profit Margins

Many believe Black Friday was named for the day retail companies would become profitable for the year (retailers would record losses in red in and profits in black), but other accounts of the origins of Black Friday differ.

How grateful are we really?

We just spent a day of Thanksgiving thanking God and people for what we have and now we spend the very next day fighting over toys, electronics, gadgets and items. We trample and hurt people to just get a deal. It is worth it? Does this fighting so we are truly thankful for what we have or does it show how greedy we are?

They don’t call it “Black Friday” for nothing. Note the term, black. Black gives off an idea of darkness or evil. Companies trying to make money now start sales on Thanksgiving Day too.

Black Friday 2020

Due to the pandemic of 2020, Black Friday will be a lot different this year. Most places have done early sales and/or online sales due to social distancing and wearing face masks.

Greed?

Why must be go into battle over a cheaper priced item? I believe that is Greed!

Check out this warning on greed in the Bible, Luke 12:15.

Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

We fight and bicker over these tangible items that we cannot take with us in Heaven. We are told to lay our treasures in Heaven. What are theses treasures? The very souls of those around you. Your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, classmates, etc. PEOPLE! (See Matthew 6:19-21)

Check out what Proverbs 15:27 says …

He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house,
But he who hates bribes will live.

Do you practice daily thanks living?

So why be greedy just to get that item for someone? Did you know what you put before God becomes an idol. Even that item you buy that person or even your shopping habits can become an idol. If you put anything before Jesus, it’s an idol.

Plaid Friday?

On the other hand, we also have Plaid Friday on the same day. This goal is to aim at shopping local instead of national chains.

Plaid Friday

_{First published November 26, 2015. Last republished and updated with additions on November 23, 2020. (Some info from Metro Creative – TF17B627)}

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