Black Friday—once simply known as "the day after Thanksgiving"—has become a quasi-holiday in the United States, one marked by consumer discounts, ceaseless shopping, and occasional violence.

Black Friday has grown and metastasized so much that it isn't a mere day anymore: It's a week, a month, a veritable state of mind. (Speaking of which, check out Lifehacker's Black Friday coverage. We got all the deals, baby!) While waking up early and shopping at physical stores on Black Friday is waning as online shopping grows, it’s still a big deal in the U.S.—it’s estimated that around 90 million Americans shopped online and 76.2 million Americans visited a brick-and-mortar store during Black Friday in 2023.

But where did Black Friday come from and what does it all mean?

When was the first Black

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