Black Friday

Black Friday Deals & Discounts

Since the year 1952, the day after Thanksgiving has been considered to mark the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the United States. There is a possibility that this custom is connected to the concept of Santa Claus parades. Because Christmas is traditionally the next major Christian holiday after Thanksgiving, parades that celebrate Thanksgiving typically include an appearance by Santa Claus at the end of the parade. This gives the impression that "Santa has arrived" or "Santa is just around the corner" because Christmas is always the next major holiday to follow Thanksgiving.

During the latter part of the 19th century and the early 20th century, department stores were the sponsors of a great number of Santa and Thanksgiving parades. These include the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which has been held in Manhattan, New York City since 1924 and is sponsored by Macy's, as well as the ongoing Toronto Santa Claus Parade, which has been conducted in Canada since 1905 and was originally sponsored by Eaton's. The parades were used by department stores as a platform to launch significant advertising campaigns. After some time, it came to be understood as a given that no shop would even attempt to begin its Christmas advertising until after the procession had concluded. Because of this, the day after Thanksgiving is now considered to mark the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.