Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Friday Terminology

It's sort of ironic...

The day we're to remember the death of Jesus is called Good Friday.

The day after Thanksgiving when people go shopping is called Black Friday.

5 comments:

Peter T Chattaway said...

I had never heard the term "Black Friday" before -- that's because I don't live in the United States -- but apparently the word "black" has a positive connotation here, because it signifies that the shopowners are finally making a profit. Their books are "in the black" on this day, instead of being "in the red". Or so a quick Google tells me. For whatever that's worth.

RC said...

@peter...thanksgiving and forth of july are always kind of those wierd holidays, you don't think about people in Canada not celebrating.

i'm certainly aware of the term...i just think it's kind of fun since black usually has a negative connotation.

So if there's no black friday in Canada...when do Canadians get the best Christmas deals? :-)

Art said...

I call Black Friday "the day after Thanksgiving" and nothing more - I simply refuse to run lemming-like to the super-retailers and fight the crowds.

Good Friday though, that I understand. It wasn't particularly good for Jesus, I suppose, but it was good - very good - for us. At least that's how I look at it.

jasdye said...

yeah, i'm starting to think the other connotation for black friday might be accurate for those smaller shopkeepers. it seems that black friday has largely become a day for the big box mega-corporations to tighten their vice on the american consumer and their control of the market - effectively shutting down the smaller competition who don't get the benefits of federal tax breaks and sweatshop labor that wal-mart and those companies do.

as far as good friday, that is an interesting thing to ponder, since i understand that in the medieval ages, at least, people held negative connotations toward the day of Jesus' death (i.e., the Jews' involvement, the number 13, etc.). so it would be interesting to see a history of naming the day and to line that up with a view of atonement through the ages. like, is that a protestant thing? a protestant and catholic? and what of the orthodox church(es), do they call it good friday too? did the name begin in the Church Father's era? and so on?

now you made me curious, rc.

Terence Towles Canote said...

A bit of trivia. Today, this particular Black Friday, is also the 120th birthday of Boris Karloff. It just so happens that in 1940 Karloff starred in a movie called, well, Black Friday...