Well it is a non-holiday holiday and one of the most popular every year. There are other Fridays named ‘Black Friday’ but each year this is the most well-known. So knock yourself out or someone else if you need to. You did the shopping, now try the quiz!

1) Black Friday. When did the name become attached to the day after Thanksgiving?
a) 1934
b) 1955
c) 1961
d) 1990

2) What city is associated with starting the phrase “Black Friday” for the day after Thanksgiving?
a) New York
b) Philadelphia
c) Chicago
d) Los Angeles

3) The “black” in “Black Friday” now refers to what?
a) profit made during the Christmas season.
b) the swarms of shoppers
c) the violence caused by the bargain hunters
d) the losses on bargains to bring in shoppers

4) Stores seem to be opening earlier on Black Friday every year. This year some will open as early as
a) 6 AM
b) 3 AM
c) Midnight
d) 8 PM on Thanksgiving

5) In what year was the date for Thanksgiving pulled forward a week to lengthen the holiday shopping period?
a) 1933
b) 1939
c) 1945
d) 1954

6) According to the National Retail Federation, about how much was spent on Black Friday in 2011?
a) $27 Bn.
b) $103 Bn.
c) $45 Bn.
d) $52 Bn.

7) In protest to the consumerism of Black Friday some activist groups have begun calling  for the day after Thanksgiving to be:
a) Don’t Shop Day
b) Stay Home Day
c) Buy Nothing Day
d) Give to Charity Day

8) In recent years Black Friday has been the busiest shopping day of the year. Prior to that what was often the busiest shopping day of the year?
a) The Saturday before the start of school
b) The day after Christmas
c) The Saturday before Christmas
d) Christmas Eve

9) In British Empire countries (including Canada) Boxing Day sales are comparable to our Black Friday. When is Boxing Day?
a) New Year’s Eve
b) The day after their Thanksgiving
c) The day before Christmas
d) The day after Christmas

10) Proper ettiquette suggests that when you knock over another shopper on Black Friday you should:
a) help others kick them to the side so they won’t impede the flow of traffic
b) Kick them once in the head for slowing you down.
c) check their bags to see if they had that hard to get Furby you couldn’t find
d) get a “CAUTION” sign from a nearby store, place on the person and get back to shopping.

Well I bet that opened an eye or two out there! Now, as with many men, I do my shopping late on Christmas Eve. I don’t know why, but I have met some surly store employees with keys in their hands on that day. I seriously do have some stories about that.

But back to the quiz. I have a special on answers. Buck apiece or 10 for $12. Oops – didn’t grab that opportunity fast enough.

1) c) according to Wikipedia 1961

2) b) Philadelphia

3) a) profit. Originally it meant the swarms of shoppers

4) d) Store openings have been pulled forward to 8PM Thanksgiving.

5) b) 1939. Roosevelt wanted to expand the shopping period, many folks refused to change and it became the year with 2 Thanksgivings.

6) d) @ $52.5 Bn. last year.

7) c) Buy Nothing Day

8) c) The Saturday before Christmas

9) d) The day after Christmas (Canada’s Thanksgiving is our Columbus Day)

10) ?) I have consulted with experts and have as yet to get an answer. So it appears all answers are acceptable.

Now stay safe out there!