The day after Thanksgiving is a crazy day. Many Americans have an off-day, Christmas isnt far, and they use to go shopping. Shops opening at 5 am are late. Some of them open already at midnight. Even then long queues wait in front of the entrance doors to get hold of the unavoidable special offers. Last year a man was trampled to death in Grand Junction.
But the term Black Friday doesnt come from the black ribbon. There are different explanations for the origin of the name. To me the following one seems to be most plausible: The term appears for the first time in 1966 in Philadelphia. Long lines of vehicles formed in eager anticipation of the bargain hunting. In those days most of the cars were black. Thats where Black Friday comes from.
We think it is much too frantic and perhaps dangerous on the streets bargain hunters belong to a particularly aggressive genus and thats why we prefer to crawl away in Pams and Malcolms house.