- Target:
- CUF Properties - Att Mr T Hopkins
- Region:
- South Africa
The history of Black Friday started much earlier than people may think. The day after Thanksgiving has been the unofficial beginning of the Christmas season since the late 19th century when President Abraham Lincoln designated the Thanksgiving holiday as the last Thursday in November.
The day after Thanksgiving wasn't called Black Friday then. The name was associated with September 24, 1869. Two speculators, Jay Gould, and James Fisk created a boom-and-bust in gold prices. A stock market crash followed as prices fell 20%. The disruption in gold prices sent commodity prices plummeting 50%. Corruption in Tammany Hall allowed Gould and Fisk to escape without punishment.
In 1905, Canadian department store Eaton's began the first Thanksgiving Day parade by bringing Santa on a wagon through the streets of downtown Toronto. In 1913, eight live reindeer pulled Santa's "sleigh." By 1916, seven floats representing nursery rhyme characters joined Santa in the parade.
In 1924, the Eaton's parade inspired Macy's Department Store to launch its famous Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. Macy's wanted to celebrate its success during the Roaring 20s. The parade boosted shopping for the following day. Retailers had a gentleman's agreement to wait until then before advertising holiday sales.
In 1939, during the Great Depression, Thanksgiving happened to fall during the fifth week of November. Retailers warned they would go bankrupt because the holiday shopping season was too short. They petitioned President Franklin D. Roosevelt to move the Thanksgiving holiday up to the fourth Thursday.
Unfortunately, by this time it was late October. Most people had already made their plans. Some were so upset that they called the holiday "Franksgiving" instead. Only 25 states followed FDR's move. Texas and Colorado celebrated two holidays, which forced some companies to give their employees an extra day off.
In 1941, Congress ended the confusion. It passed a law that made Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November no matter what.
In the 1950's, people began calling in sick the day after Thanksgiving, essentially giving themselves a four-day weekend. Since stores were open, as were most businesses, those playing hooky could also get a head start on their holiday shopping. That’s as long as the boss didn't see them. Rather than try to determine whose pay should be cut, and who was legitimately sick, many businesses started adding that day as another paid holiday.
In 1966, the Black Friday name became famous in print. That's when a story appeared in an ad in The American Philatelist, a stamp collectors' magazine. The Philadelphia Police Department used the name to describe the traffic jams and crowding in the downtown stores.
We, the undersigned, call upon Mr T Hopkins the managing director of CUF Properies to grant the office staff half day leave tomorrow, because of the Black Friday promotions and sales on offer at various shopping Centers across the country. As you are aware, our current social economic crisis in South Africa and the financial difficulties we as South African citizens face on a day to day basis, it is not easy for us to provide for our families and the various needs they have. We would like to take this Black Friday opportunity and make use of the discounts and specials that are available in stores.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Black Friday halfday leave petition to CUF Properties - Att Mr T Hopkins was written by Robert Hawley and is in the category Consumer Affairs at GoPetition.