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
Friday the 13th ("I have lived", implying death in the present), an omen of bad luck. In fact, in Italy, 13 is generally considered a lucky number. However, due to Americanization, young people consider Friday the 13th unlucky as well. The 2000 parody film "Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth" was released in Italy with the title "Shriek – Hai impegni per venerdì 17?" (""Shriek – Do You Have Something to Do on Friday the 17th?""). Friday the 17th occurs on a month starting on Wednesday. According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North