Black Friday is an annual shopping day that falls after Thanksgiving in the United

States of America. Every year, people take advantage of the heavily discounted items
that shops put up for sale. For many people, Black Friday signals the beginning of the
Christmas shopping period.

 Black Friday always occurs on the day after Thanksgiving. It is the last Friday of the
month of November.
 Black Friday is not a national holiday, although many employers give their workers this
day off work in addition to Thanksgiving Thursday.
 Black Friday is also known as ‘The Day After Thanksgiving’.
 It’s believed that Black Friday originated in Philadelphia in the early 1960s.
 The name supposedly originates from the moment in the year when retailers begin to
turn a profit, and so go from their takings being in the ‘red’ to in the ‘black’.
 Since about 2005, Black Friday has always been the busiest shopping day of the year.
 Many retailers open their stores from 4 or 5am to provide customers in to get the best
deals. Some stores, including Target and Macy’s, open at midnight on Thanksgiving.
 Some retailers even open on Thanksgiving Day itself. This day has become known as
‘Black Thursday’ or ‘Gray Thursday’ by some.

 Many people in the USA will camp outside shops to ensure they are the first customers
into the store on Black Friday.
 Because of the number of people trying to bag the bargains, Black Friday often becomes
violent and people are injured. Since 2006 there have even been 7 deaths as a result of
Black Friday hysteria.
 In 2008, 20,000 shoppers tried to enter a Wal-Mart store in New York, and a shop
employee died in the stampede.
 In 2010, shoppers carrying knives and guns were arrested in Wisconsin, Florida and
Indianapolis.
 In 2011, people waiting to buy a discounted Xbox 360 in California were sprayed with
pepper spray by one desperate customer.
 Black Friday has only recently become a phenomenon in the UK. It wasn’t until 2014
that the day became an event for British shoppers.

Answer the questions

1: What is the day just after Thanksgiving called in the US?

2: What happens on that day?

3: Where did the term begin?

4: Why do retailers like Black Friday?

5: The article calls Black Friday “a chance shopping season”? What does this mean?

6: Do you think that Black Friday is a good idea? YES / NO, WHY?