The Origin of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Long lines, pushing and shoving, cramming into spaces that should only fit half the number of people — we’re either describing typical rush hour traffic on a Tokyo subway line, or none other than a Black Friday sale.
If you’ve ever witnessed the sheer carnage and frenzy of one of these once-a-year sales, you know the joys and pains of pitching a tent in front of the store before the big day, or getting up in the middle of the night to wait in line for that big bargain of the year. Indeed, Black Friday, and now Cyber Monday, have become a cultural rite many people have adopted after Thanksgiving Day.
But do you know how this shopping tradition all started? Like many big events, Black Friday started on a smaller scale. In this article, we discuss the origins of Black Friday and Cyber Monday and how, if you don’t like being part of the rabid shopping crowd, you can realize some big savings on your seasonal gift shopping for pleasure items at home.
Black Friday Origins
If you are old enough, some of you might be familiar with Black Friday lines and people camping out in front of their favorite store the night before the big sale. However, if you are a Millennial or a Gen Zer, you might be more familiar with Cyber Monday and having your sleeping gear next to your computer, waiting for the clock to strike midnight for big savings.
I, for one, could never be too far away from the Thanksgiving holiday spread of food in the living room to be brave enough to stand out in the cold for hours and hours. And even if I tried setting the alarm clock for 2 or 3 A.M., I’d just shut it off and go back to bed. But as we all know, there are crowds of brave individuals out there willing to sacrifice life and limb, sub zero temperatures, and maybe some of their pride for the bargain of the year.
So how did all of this start? When did the Black Friday craze begin? Everything always has a beginning. And the origin of Black Friday’s roots, as a shopping phenomenon, apparently started in the City of Brotherly Love. Yes, Philadelphia, home of the Philly cheese steak sandwich, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the statue of Rocky Balboa.
It may be hard to imagine the city, literally named after brotherly love (Philadelphia, being the combined the Greek words for phileo-love, and adelphos-brother) be the center of a battle royale for big screen TVs and other bargains, but when money and big savings are involved, it’s no holds barred.
Philadelphia was considered neutral ground for the annual Army versus Navy college (American) football game which gave the winner bragging rights to who was the “superior” in the U.S. Armed Forces for that year. After enjoying Thanksgiving at home, people and alumni of both academies would make it a weekend visit and stay in the city of Philadelphia for the game held at the 102,000 spectator capacity JFK Stadium (thousands more people if you think about the tailgate parties in the parking lot).
Naturally, with a sudden influx of people, it was a huge challenge to control the crowds and added traffic, a nightmare actually. Being a huge burden on public services, and especially on an understaffed police force, the day when many ascended into the city and made their way to the stores was nicknamed “Black Friday”, assumed to be coined by the police department sometime in the 1960’s as it was a dark time of the year for them.
But over the years, retailers realized the event turned into a retail windfall, and so there were attempts to change the name and eliminate the negative connotation of it being “black” to “Big Friday”, but it never caught on. Hence the name spread throughout the country as Black Friday. And shopping was never the same again!
The Rise of Cyber Monday
“Cyber Monday” was coined by the National Retail Federation in 2005 when there appeared a noticeable increase in online shopping following Thanksgiving. Since then, Cyber Monday has become a widely recognized term, with retailers offering special online promotions and discounts.
2022 saw 77 million consumers spend a record total of $11.3 billion on Cyber Monday sales, and this upward trend is predicted to continue. It’s interesting to note that 43% of those sales were made using mobile phones. It’s nice to know there is a more peaceful alternative to getting the best bargains these days!
It’s here! Our Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale is on NOW!!!
Deals so good, you’re going to say “JUST SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY, HONEY!”
If you read our article a few weeks ago, you knew to come back here for more great deals. Let us first compliment you on your high level of intelligence and taste in TENGA items. If you were a racehorse, you would be a thoroughbred, if you were a gem, you would definitely be a diamond, but since you are a human (not AI, are you?), you are definitely the coolest, most divine human we have ever served. And if that weren’t enough to butter you up, check this out:
In honor of your savviness, and your supreme desire to feel and share the ultimate in sensations and pleasure, we have prepared some enormous savings for you and yours.
UP TO 40% OFF SELECT ITEMS in the TENGA USA and EU STORES!
Save 10%-40% on some of your most favorite items.
They’re top sellers for a reason, find out why, and now for less!
We don’t want to spoil your fun by giving you the specific details here. Come take a look for yourself and discover how much you could save in your home country:
Did you ever want to try a FLIP ZERO for yourself, or give an iroha+ TORI to someone? It’s so much more fun when you can share the excitement with someone else, while saving a few dollars, euros, or pounds.
TENGA’s mission to make sexuality something anyone can enjoy has just gotten a lot easier with these Black Friday Deals, offering up to 40% off all of its stylish pleasure items starting from Friday November 24th.
You definitely don’t want to miss the huge savings going on right now for a very limited time!
- M
