The term Black Friday is something I find hard to get my head around. I know it has to do with black ink denoting profitability in ledgers, but to me Black Friday suggests one of those Wall Street Crash days of yore -- Black Thursday 1929, etc.
Last fall I discovered that there are Black Fridays in Europe -- where they don't even celebrate the American Thanksgiving. I saw Black Friday signs posted in stores in Italy and in Spain. I even took advantage of it in Barcelona. I was in town for a few hours and it began to rain. Didn't have a waterproof hat, so I ducked into the big El Corte Inglés department store and bought a nice English Barbour baseball cap at a discount.
Here in the States, it's a day I try to avoid shopping, much like the day after Christmas. And to tell the truth, that day in Barcelona was Wednesday, the day before the Thanksgiving that they don't celebrate. But the sales event was on, crowds weren't hectic, and I was able to keep my head dry.
