|
How did Black Friday get its name?
Black Friday occurs every year the day after the US holiday called
Thanksgiving which is traditionally held on the 4th Thursday of November.
Shops open early and offer various sales and bargains for consumers. But
where did Black Friday get its name?
Well, there's more than one story on the Internet concerning the origin
of Black Friday.
The first has nothing to do with shopping, and goes way back to 1869
when two traders on Wall Street tried to buy up all the gold on the New
York Gold Exchange.
The US president at the time, Ulysses S. Grant, intervened and the price
of gold fell drastically. Thousands of Americans went bankrupt and that
day was called Black Friday.
A popular explanation for Black Friday, is that many businesses are in
the red at this time of year, and having a huge sale just after
Thanksgiving gives their income a boost and puts them in the black – in
other words, making a profit.
This explanation is more than likely an invention by retail marketers to
sell the idea of a big one-day sale.
Most people seem to agree that the real explanation dates back to the
early 1950s and early 60s, when police officers in Philadelphia had a
hard time at work.
Holiday shoppers flocked to the city to begin their holiday shopping and
others to go and see a popular American football game between the Army
and the Navy.
This caused chaos, traffic jams and accidents and the police had to work
very long shifts, which was a black day for them, indeed!
Businesses tried to change the name over the years from Black Friday to
Big Friday, but the name never really stuck.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when discounts are offered for online
shoppers, have become incredibly popular, not only in the US but all
around the world.
They generate a lot of income for retailers and provide shoppers with
some very tempting bargains.
Descarga GRATIS nuestra app de Podcast
para aprender Inglés
(para Iphone, Ipad, Ipod y Android).
 *Si
te ha resultado difícil el ejercicio o
quieres practicar más dispones de más
Ejercicios de Listening de nivel Avanzado. |
|
|
