I’m not sure when they started calling the day after Thansgiving “Black Friday.” I know that it relates to the crush of shoppers in search of Christmas sales, and has something to do with the idea that retailers who have a good day will make it “into the black” (as opposed to the red) for the year.
One could also call it Black Friday because it begins in the black of night, with stores advertising early morning specials and openings ranging from midnight to three, four, and five o’clock in the morning.
And, I suppose that those who don’t get there in time to score one of the few deeply discounted items available could find themselves in a black mood. I just hope no one gets run over in the crush this year and knocked unconscious, a different kind of blackness.
For me, the day could be called “Red Friday” because I’ll spend a large part of it grading exegesis papers, except that I use a pencil instead of a red pen, so I guess it’ll be more of a “Gray Friday” (lots of gray, I’m afraid).
Some of it might be a Green and Brown Friday, because although I cleaned up all the leaves in my yard yesterday, the wind filled it up again.
Whatever color your Friday turns out to be, I hope it’s still tinged with thanksgiving.
Professor of Old Testament at Campbell University Divinity School in Buies Creek, North Carolina, and the Contributing Editor and Curriculum Writer at Good Faith Media.
