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What is Black Friday? + Comprehension Questions

What Black Friday is, where the name came from and why the day after Thanksgiving became the biggest shopping event of the year. Comprehension questions follow, and the shopping vocabulary transfers to any lesson about prices and bargains.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, and its name has two competing explanations. The one supported by the record is unglamorous: police in Philadelphia used it in the 1960s for the traffic and crowds that clogged the city after the holiday. The one retailers prefer came later — the day their books moved from red into black, meaning into profit.

Comprehension questions on a topic like this are more interesting than usual, because students can be asked which explanation they believe and why. The shopping vocabulary that comes with it — discount, bargain, half price, refund, good value, a rip-off — belongs to any conversation about money, not only to November.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Black Friday?

The day after Thanksgiving in the United States, when shops cut prices sharply and the Christmas shopping season officially begins. It has spread to many other countries, where the date is kept even though Thanksgiving is not.

Why is it called Black Friday?

The name started in Philadelphia in the 1960s, where police used it for the traffic chaos and crowds that followed Thanksgiving. Retailers later gave it a friendlier explanation — the day their accounts moved from red into black, meaning into profit.

What shopping vocabulary goes with this topic?

Discount, sale, bargain, half price, queue, checkout, refund, and the phrases around them: it was reduced from, I got it for, that is a rip-off, that is good value. The topic works well for a role play between a shopper and a shop assistant.