Question: What is the definition of "Black Friday" and why is it called "Black Friday"?

--David Black

Answer:

"Black Friday" is the first Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States.

"Black Friday" officially marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season in the US.

Due to the surge of holiday shopping traffic, many retailers are thought to officially turn profitable for the year on this day, or "move into the black".

Many retailers run in the red (meaning, they lose money) up until this day, and then when people start pulling out their wallets and purses for holiday shopping, the retailers start turning a profit for the year.

For this reason, "Black Friday" is an immensely important day of the year for retailers in the United States. The strength of "Black Friday" usually gives a very good indication as to how the entire holiday shopping season will turn out.