Black Friday

Why Black Friday?

This might come across as an unusual choice of topic. Of everything I can write and talk about, I chose the topic of Black Friday.

Here’s why it made it to my list of ‘why’s to write about’.
For the longest time, I didn’t know why the colour black was associated with this day of the week. I didn’t know the day had anything to do with shopping or Thanksgiving.

What I did think, as a clueless child, was that it marked a day of remembrance of some dark event in history.

On Friday, many years ago, a bomb blast took away 100+ lives, and since then, the day has been marked as a ‘Black Friday’ or something along those lines.
I have no clue why black-something had a negative connotation for me.
Before I get into it, let’s find out what Black Friday is and where it gets its name from:

Here is a simple Wikipedia explanation: Black Friday is a term for the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States. It traditionally marks the start of the Christmas shopping season in the United States. Stores offer highly promoted sales at discounted prices and often open early, sometimes as early as midnight or even on Thanksgiving. Black Friday has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States.

Here are some theories about how the name came about:
The term was coined by police officers in Philadelphia to mark the rush of shoppers for the festive season. A large crowd meant more traffic and shoplifting. This meant longer shifts than usual for the police officers.

‘Black Friday’ was coined to describe the chaotic day between Thanksgiving and the annual Army-Navy football game. Thanksgiving always takes place on a Thursday. The game would kick off on the following Saturday. Thousands of suburban tourists would swarm the city to start Christmas shopping and attend the football game.

Yet another theory says that the name dates back to the US financial crash in 1869, nicknamed Black Friday, as it left many Wall Street barons bankrupt.
Retailers then changed the narrative and decided that Black Friday is when they’re supposed to be “in the black,” a financial phrase describing the profitability of a business, in contrast to being “in the red” or a deficit.
In recent years, another myth has surfaced that gives a gruesome twist to the tradition, claiming that back in the 1800s, Southern plantation owners could buy enslaved workers at a discount on the day after Thanksgiving.

Okay, enough trivia. Now, the reason why I started with this topic in the first place — why the negativity with black?
Think about it. Black market. Blacklist. Black eye. Blackout. Black box. Black mood. Black magic. Black death. Black sheep. Black face. Black hand. Blackhead. Black hole. Blackshirt. Blackmail. Black mark. The list goes on and on.
I tried to think back to my childhood. There must be a reason I had this cognitive bias.

The Why Within- Why is black associated with all things evil?
Do you recollect how, as a child, you were made to fear the dark?
If you misbehaved, you were sent to a dark room (or made to stand in the corner, beaten up with a belt, or some of you lucky ones got ice cream instead).
The dark room — in our case, was an old storage area that housed coconuts, spare utensils, old mattresses, etc. — scared us enough to make us want to finish our milk.

Mum never encouraged us to wear black clothes. Whenever I wanted to wear something black, she’d say, “But it’s not a funeral.”

Accepting my fate, I’d stare at images of the ‘Little Black Dress’ that Seventeen Magazine told me I must have.

The first time I learnt about superstitions in school, the example stated was that of a black cat bringing you bad luck.

Our old books have stories where bad things would happen in the dark. Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel.

Monsters under the bed. Ghosts lurking in the dark forest.
I guess this assumption that black, therefore, means evil, punishment, fear, darkness, death, and sorrow is something that we’re conditioned to believe as kids.

I love black now. I wear it all the time.

Do I still fear dark rooms? Yes.

Do I still think black-something is a negative reference? Yes, I do.

But I’ve learned to reason and question.

My husband and I wanted a black wedding car on our wedding day. We loved how sleek black cars looked and disliked the ‘white taxi’ vibe that a white wedding car had.

Eyeballs rolled, and tongues wagged. A black car? But it symbolises a second wedding! One said it implied a divorcee was remarrying. Another said it could bring bad luck to the wedding day (long story short. we got the black car. we had a fantastic wedding day, FYI).

Who comes up with these things? And why do we carry them on through generations? I should stop before I write 1000 words down this rabbit hole.
Does this mean I will willingly walk out in the dark, alone, with great pride in my choice? Hell no. I’m scared.

We also link colour and emotions.

One would associate red with anger, passion, and speed.
White with purity, peace.

And black with grief and gloom.

I found this related study. When participants are asked to associate an emotional response with colour, they often associate bright colours ( like white and pink) with positive emotions (e.g., happy, relaxed) and dark colours (black, brown) with negative emotions (anxious, sad).

This brings me to ‘Color symbolism’.

Colour symbolism is the cultural evolution of our psychological associations with colour.

For example, the West associates white with purity and innocence. It’s why bridal gowns are white. Queen Victoria began the fashion with her white wedding dress in 1840.

By contrast, in the East, white is commonly associated with death. Chinese brides often opt for a red gown, a prosperous colour that brings good fortune.
Kali (the Hindu goddess of time, change, and death) has black or dark blue skin. Her Sanskrit name translates into English as “She Who is Black” or “She Who is Death.”

In India (I think this is solely an India thing), black is also the colour of protection against evil. A black dot is painted on a child's face to protect against the evil eye.
But black is also symbolic of experience and skill. For example, the black belt in martial arts is the highest rank one can achieve.

While many associate black with death, the ancient Egyptians positively connected black with life due to the rich, black soil that flooded the Nile. It was also the colour of the god Anubis (ruler of the Underworld), who took the form of a black jackal and offered the dead protection against evil.

In writing this piece today, I’ve learned how colour symbolism shapes cultural experiences in societies worldwide. The meaning of colour is essential because it bypasses linguistic differences, serving as an immediately recognisable form of communication.

While the meaning of colour can vary across cultures and religions, its significance cannot be understated. We see and understand the world vividly in colour. Humans can use it as a tool for social communication and deeper cultural understanding.

My apologies if you came here looking for Black Friday deals :)