When is Black Friday?

Black Friday 2012

The date of Black Friday 2012 is Friday 23 November.

In the USA, Black Friday is the first shopping day after Thanksgiving. Black Friday and marks the unofficial start of the Christmas season. Black Friday is one of the key retail dates for department stores and other shops that sell Christmas presents. Many open early and kick start the Christmas shopping season with promotional sales.

Countdown to Black Friday

There are -183 days until Black Friday.
There are -4400 hours until Black Friday.

What is Black Friday?

The term 'Black Friday' is a recent invention, only in common use for the last 20 years or so. It may come from the idea that until that date, all a firms earnings are tied up in wages and taxes, but everything thereafter is profit. Alternative derivations are from the Philadelphia police department who used to plan for exceptionally heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic on that particular shopping day. Black Friday is now also being incorporated as a holiday for many workers, adding to the excitement of the day. Black Friday is an 'emerging festival' and it will be interesting to see how it evolves during our lifetimes.