What's Black Friday?

For millions of people Black Friday is the time to do some serious Christmas shopping --even before the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone! Black Black is the Friday after Thanksgiving, and it's one of the major shopping days of the year in the United States -falling anywhere between November 23 and 29. While it's not recognized as an official US holiday, many employees have the day off -except those working in retail.

The term “Black Friday” was coined in the 1960s to mark the kickoff to the Christmas shopping season. “Black” refers to stores moving from the “red” to the “black,” back when accounting records were kept by hand, and red ink indicated a loss, and black a profit. Ever since the start of the modern Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1924, the Friday after Thanksgiving has been known as the unofficial start to a bustling holiday shopping season.

In the 1960's, police in Philadelphia griped about the congested streets, clogged with motorists and pedestrians, calling it “Black Friday.” In a non-retail sense, it also describes a financial crisis of 1869: a stock market catastrophe set off by gold spectators who tried and failed to corner the gold market, causing the market to collapse and stocks to plummet.

Why did it become so popular?

As retailers began to realize they could draw big crowds by discounting prices, Black Friday became the day to shop, even better than those last minute Christmas sales. Some retailers put their items up for sale on the morning of Thanksgiving, or email online specials to consumers days or weeks before the actual event. The most shopped for items are electronics and popular toys, as these may be the most drastically discounted. However, prices are slashed on everything from home furnishings to apparel.

Black Friday is a long day, with many retailers opening up at 5 am or even earlier to hordes of people waiting anxiously outside the windows. There are numerous doorbuster deals and loss leaders – prices so low the store may not make a profit - to entice shoppers. Most large retailers post their Black Friday ad scans, coupons and offers online beforehand to give consumers time to find out about sales and plan their purchases. Other companies take a different approach, waiting until the last possible moment to release their Black Friday ads, hoping to create a buzz and keep customers eagerly checking back for an announcement.

More and more, consumers are choosing to shop online, not wanting to wait outside in the early morning chill with a crush of other shoppers or battle over the last most-wanted item. Often, many people show up for a small number of limited-time "door-buster" deals, such as large flat-screen televisions or laptops for a few hundred dollars. Since these coveted items sell out quickly, quite a few shoppers leave the store empty handed. The benefit of online shopping is that you will know right away if the MP3 player you want is out of stock, and can easily find another one without having to travel from store to store. Also, many online retailers have pre-Black Friday or special Thanksgiving sales, so you may not even have to wait until the big day to save. So, there you have it - the Black Friday history behind the best shopping day of the year!

What is Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the USA and Canada. In The USA, it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November every year. The Canadians celebrate it on the second Monday in October. It is associated with giving thanks to God. In the beginning people expressed gratitude for the harvest they reaped. It used to be a religious holiday but now it has become a secular celebration.

The most important part of the celebration is the dinner which includes the customary turkey served with cranberry sauce, and pumpkin. A lot of business goes on during this holiday. For example, restaurants take advantage of the holiday to sell turkey dinners

Families and friends usually get together for a large meal or dinner during Thanksgiving and have a lot of fun. That's why, the Thanksgiving holiday weekend is considered one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Students are given a four-day or five-day weekend vacation. Thanksgiving is also a paid holiday for most workers.

Phrasal verb Come

Phrasal Verbs: COME 

For today, phrasal verbs and...... May the force be with you!

Come about:        Suceder

Come across:     Encontrarse con alguien, dar con algo

Come along.   Presentarse, venir, prosperar 

Come away.   Salirse, alejarse, desprenderse

Come back.     Volver

Come by.    Pasarse por un sitio, conseguir, adquirir

Come down.   Caer, caer enfermo, bajar

Come forward.     Avanzar, ofrecerse

Come in.       Llegar

Come into.     Entrar en, heredar

   

Come off.    Caerse, ¡Venga ya!

Come on.    Comenzar (enfermedad, a llover), ¡Vamos!

Come on to.       Proceder a

Come out.       Salir

Come over.      Venir de visita

Come round.        Doblar una esquina, venir de visita

Come through.     Cruzar

Come to.             Ascender a, llegar a

Come under.        Formar parte de algo

Come up.            Surgir, subir, acercarse

Come up against.       Enfrentarse a.

Come up to.             Llegar hasta, alcanzar

Come up with.        Inventarse, conseguir.

Travel Idioms

jump the lights	If you continue driving when the traffic lights turn red, you jump the lights. It's very dangerous to jump the lights.  No wonder he was stopped by the police.
fall off the back of alorry	Goods that have fallen off the back of a lorry are stolen goods. Judging by the price of that camera, it must have fallen off the back of a lorry!
make your way to	If you make your way to a destination, you manage to get there without difficulty. Don't worry. I'll make my way to your home from the station.
pedal to the metal	When you put the pedal to the metal, you accelerate or make something go faster. If I put the pedal to the metal I might get there on time.
any port in a storm	When you are in difficulty, any port in a storm refers to a solution you accept which in normal circumstances you would find unacceptable. The hotel was substandard, but it was a case of any port in a storm; all the others were full.
take for a ride	To take someone for a ride means to cheat or deceive them. I discovered he had charged me double the normal fee.  He really took me for a ride!
road rage	Aggressive driving habits sometimes resulting in violence against other drivers is called road rage. A number of accidents today are a direct result of road rage.
middle of the road (MOR)	This term refers to anything moderate, unadventurous or inoffensive that avoids extremes and appeals to the majority of people. He's a successful middle-of-the-road entertainer. My mother wouldn't miss a show!
get show on theroad	If you manage to put a plan into action, you get the show on the road. OK, we've got all we need, so let's get the show on the road.
sail close to the wind	If you sail close to the wind, you do something dangerous or act just within the limits of what is legal or acceptable. He seems to invest his money well although he often sails close to the wind.
sail through	If you sail through something, for example a test or an exam, you succeed in doing it without difficulty. The English test was no problem for Pedro. He sailed through it.
shank's pony	If you go somewhere on Shank's pony, you have to walk rather than travel by bus, car, etc. It was impossible to find a taxi after the party, so it was Shank's pony for us!
ships that pass in the night	This expression refers to people who meet briefly and are not likely to meet again. The two men met one, like ships that pass in the night, and never met again.
live out of a suitcase	Someone who lives of a suitcase travels a lot, moving from place to place, and is therefore restricted to the contents of their suitcase. Sarah's job involves so much travelling that she lives out of a suitcase.
train of thought	A sequence of connected ideas is called a train of thought. I was considering the different options when the noise outside broke my train of thought.
hitch wagon to a star	Someone who hitches their wagon to a star has great ambitions and is very determined to reach their goal. At an early age she decided to hitch her wagon to a star and become famous.
on the wagon	Someone who is on the wagon is no longer drinking alcohol. No wine for me please - I'm on the wagon.