What Black Friday is
Black Friday is the Friday after US Thanksgiving. That means it is always the day after the fourth Thursday of November, between November 23 and November 29. Retailers in the United States use it as the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, and Canadian retailers have adopted it too, with sales both in stores and online.
Where the name comes from
Several explanations are told. The one most often cited traces it to Philadelphia in the 1960s, where police used it to describe the crowds and traffic of the weekend after Thanksgiving. A popular story that retailers moved “into the black” that day is often repeated, but it is generally treated as a later retelling.
Not a holiday, and not always one day
Black Friday is not a statutory holiday in Canada, so shops and offices are open. Many retailers begin deals days earlier or run them for a week or more, so the Friday this countdown ends on is the date itself, not necessarily when every sale starts. Cyber Monday, the online-shopping day, is the Monday after.
Shopping calmly
Check each retailer’s return policy before you buy, because holiday purchases are sometimes treated differently from the rest of the year. Order online early enough for delivery before the day you need the item, and be careful with unsolicited emails and messages promising big discounts, which are a common way to steer people to fake shops. Go direct to the retailer’s own site instead. Write down a short list and a firm spending limit before the day begins, so that a countdown to the sales is also a countdown to your own plan.
Plan before you shop
A list and a budget beat a bargain you did not plan for. Use the countdown to decide when to start comparing, and the countdown timer to limit browsing time. The clock is handy for sales that start at a set hour. You can embed the countdown on a shop page. It follows US Thanksgiving by a day, and Christmas is about four weeks after it.
More countdowns
Need a different date? Use the countdown to any date or count up with time since a date.
Questions
What date is Black Friday this year?
Black Friday is the day after US Thanksgiving, which is the fourth Thursday of November, so it is always between November 23 and November 29. The countdown above always shows the next one without any lookup.
What is the difference between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
Black Friday is the Friday after US Thanksgiving and is associated with in-store and online sales. Cyber Monday is the Monday after that weekend and is aimed at online shopping. Many retailers run deals across the whole period.
Is Black Friday a holiday in Canada?
No. Black Friday is not a statutory holiday in Canada, and offices and shops are open as usual. Many Canadian retailers run Black Friday sales, but the details differ from store to store.
Do sales start exactly at midnight?
Not necessarily. Some retailers start deals days earlier, others open online at midnight, and stores set their own opening hours. This countdown ends at the first moment of Friday on your clock, so check each retailer’s own start time.