By Danna Martínez
Today is Black Friday! And we all know what it means… keep your wallet close and your buyer spirit alive. Every year, millions of people around the country go out to stores looking for discounts and cut prices. Generally, our “will to buy” is enhanced by holiday expectations. However, Black Friday has become not only a chance to purchase but a tradition for countless people. From waiting at the store at 1 a.m. to spending the entire day at the market, America has embraced Black Friday as part of the Holidays!
In contrast to what it is now, Black Friday started as a financial crisis. Around 1869, September 24 to be exact, occurred the “Crash of the U.S. Gold Market.” This date was kenned as the day when the Gold price went down, causing panic in the stock market. Several presume that the crisis was derived from Jay Gould and James Fisk, both Wall Street financiers, in their attempt to increase the price of gold. Adversely to the plans, the United States economics fell into crisis, in which millions of people were affected.
After financial losses, the stores went back to black ink. In business terms, when using red ink, the market report describes a financial loss. On the other hand, black ink is used to show a positive number for income gain.
Merchants used this idea to mark prices in red for discounted rates. As a result of numerous holiday purchases on discounted merchandise, business owners could recuperate and gain profits after a whole year of lost reveune.
Years following, Black Friday took place in the U.S. as the memory of the Market Crash. Nonetheless, this day is not remembered as a loss but a preparation for the holiday shopping season.
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