Black Friday is now known as post-thanksgiving holiday shopping. However, it has not always been known as that. Back in the 1950s, police in the city of Philadelphia used the term to describe the chaos that happened on the day after Thanksgiving. When suburban shoppers and tourists flooded into the city in advance of the big Army-Navy football game held on that Saturday every year. Not only were Philly cops not able to take the day off, but they had to work extra-long shifts dealing with the additional crowds and traffic. Shoplifters also took advantage of the chaos in stores and made off with merchandise. 

Sometime in the 1980’s many retailers wanted to change the meaning of “Black Friday”, into something positive. This became the “Red to black” theory. It meant that the day after Thanksgiving marked the occasion when American’s stores finally turned a profit. Although Black Friday has not always been positive, it is now a time when Americans can go out and shop for one-day sales.