History of Black Friday

• Originally coined to mark the crash of the U.S. gold market on Sept. 24, 1869.

• Although it was used to reference a financial crisis, it is now most often associated with the retail sector and holiday shopping.

• It’s a term used to describe how retailers, usually operating an entire year at a loss, made huge profits the day following American Thanksgiving due to mega sales and a holiday shopping frenzy.

• The shopping bonanza has been somewhat tempered in recent years by Cyber Monday, which is the Monday following Black Friday when online sales often peak.