Changes

It is not clear what led to or when the term "Black Friday" came into existence in reference to the day after Thanksgiving. Most likely, in Philadelphia during the late 1950s or early 1960s, increased shopping traffic and pedestrian traffic getting to stores led to more frequent traffic jams and accidents. There was also increased crime as shoplifting and even violent crime increased, leading to the police and other emergency services having to increase their presence during that day. People also saw this as disruptive, particularly people who did not take part in the shopping. The term may have begun as a pejorative for the disruption but soon shoppers themselves or at least the media began to use the term more frequently by the early 1960s. Since the 1960s until the late 1990s, Black Friday remained relatively similar, with stores traditionally offering discounts and sales. However, some stores began to try to gain initial advantages by moving Black Friday sales earlier or even open very early on Black Friday at around midnight or even early in the morning.

==Later Developments==