Black Friday is associated with post-Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas shopping. It is a sales weekend in which both online and offline stores mark the day by offering attractive discounts to customers
Representational image, AFP
If you live for discounts and shopping, this Friday is special for you. The Black Friday sales this year falls on Friday, 26 November. For the unversed, this is the day when several online and offline retailers launch the Black Friday sales that offer a variety of products at discounted prices to consumers. This mega shopping occasion falls a day after Thanksgiving.
What is Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is an annual celebration in the United States, which is also marked as a national holiday. It celebrates the annual harvest and other blessings of the past year. Unlike other holidays, the main purpose of celebrating Thanksgiving is being thankful for what we have.
Black Friday is linked to the festival since the middle of the 20th century. This is the day when people of the US were offered massive discounts on the products. Now, Black Friday is exported to the rest of the world, and retailers of most of the countries offer massive discounts on this day.
In India, e-commerce companies initiate their separate Black Friday sales and attract people by giving massive discounts on a variety of products. This year, over 70,000 Indian exporters, who are part of the global conglomerate Amazon, will participate in the event.
What is Black Friday?
Black Friday is associated with post-Thanksgiving and pre-Christmas shopping. It is a sales weekend in which both online and offline stores mark the day by offering attractive discounts to customers.
It is believed that the term ‘Black Friday’ specifically originated in Philadelphia, USA in the 1960s. Cops called one Friday as ‘Black Friday’, as the streets on that day were clogged with traffic. The day is also believed to symbolize the US gold market crash which happened in 1869.
Criticisms of the occasion:
As per the critics, the day is a perfect example of over-consumption, as Black Friday forces people to buy products that are not required. Two years ago, a Black Friday protest was held in France against online retailer Amazon. The protesters blamed the online shopping giant for exacerbating climate change through its rapid delivery services.
The “Stop Black Friday” amendment in the country was put forward as part of an anti-waste Bill, which was put forward by the former environment minister of France, Delphine Batho.