Black Friday (shopping) the holiday season, beginning on the day after Thanksgiving. When this was recorded in the financial records, once-common accounting practices would use red ink to show negative amounts and black ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday, under this theory, is the beginning of the period when retailers would no longer be "in the red", instead taking in the year's profits. The earliest known published reference to this explanation occurs in "The Philadelphia Inquirer" for November 28, 1981. In 2013, an internet rumor alleged that the phrase originated in the American south before the Civil War, from the practice of
Black Friday (shopping) and small retailers that used Black Friday in their marketing. However, with a total of 35 participating stores, 2015 can be considered the year in which Black Friday started in the Netherlands due to more widespread support of large retailers. The popularity of Black Friday has grown rapidly in the Netherlands. The number of participating stores has increased to over 125 during the Black Friday period of 2017. In 2016 Black Friday was introduced in Poland, Greece and Ukraine. Black Friday in Belgium is seriously marketed by retailers since 2016. Especially online shops have broke sales records during the last