U.K. Equivalent?

[Clanad]

It's "Black Friday" here in the U.S. So called because yesterday was the national holiday of "Thanksgiving"... first observed, of sorts, by the Pilgrims (all English, to whom we owe a national debt for many things American) in the Fall of 1621 and much later proposed by President Lincoln in 1863 in the midst of the Civil War and later passed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.
It's connection to Black Friday is that the Friday after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year... so much so that many businesses only go into "the black" and make a profit from the increased sales on this day.
It's gotten completely out of hand, in my opinion, in that people camp out in front of the stores at least overnight if not for a couple of days, because of the sales efforts. Most stores, especially the "big box" stores open at midnight or maybe 3:00AM. The rush to get in the choicest stores often produces near riots.
News this morning from New York, for example, says a bunch of people used pepper spray to chase off those nearest the entry doors... strange behavior, but a sign of the times.
Any such craziness in the U.K. Or does the stiff upper lip still reign?

[Fibonacci]

Boxing Day sales ?

[ChuckFickens]

Stiff upper lip all the way :)

I guess the January sales are the closest we have to that situation (although the January sales tend to start on December 26th now)

[craft1948]

You need to be brave to go to the New Year sales at Harrods......or have a machine gun.

[Old_Geezer]

This morning was the first time I became aware of this black Friday phenomenon. Had I heard it before I'd have assumed it was a reference to the Wall Street crash or something.

WE do have sale periods. New Year used to be a favourite one but that is creeping closer & closer towards Xmas, and in times of recession can even be earlier than that. Yes some folk do seem to want to queue all night outside various stores, but as I know none of these people personally I suspect they must be pretty much in the minority. A curiosity for the news programmes to show the more reserved majority.

[ChuckFickens]

Would they let you in Harrods with a machine gun, it would probably be against their dress code.

[rojash]

Judging by the number of "Black Friday" marketing e-mails I get in the run-up, I just assumed it was a day to celebrate the birth of spam

[HowardKennitby]

Chuck

They would let you in if you had bought it from them.

[Ankou]

"This morning was the first time I became aware of this black Friday phenomenon. Had I heard it before I'd have assumed it was a reference to the Wall Street crash or something"

me too, saw something about it on daybreak and just thought it was an advert for early sales. general tradition has been boxing day sales, and we always get the annual report of people camping along oxford and regent street in london (and harrods) - daft sods.

[naomi24]

Daft sods indeed. Some of them may well end up with a black eye or bruised ribs, but I've never heard of anyone using a pepper spray.

[Ankou]

probably not, but don't you remember the fracas atthe opening of ikea in edmonton north london ?!

http://news.bbc.co.uk...nd/london/4252421.stm

i must admit, their swedish meatballs are worth a stampede every now and again.

[craft1948]

I was once fortunate enough to get a sales preview ticket for the Harrods china department sales (you picked what you wanted and then it was all boxed up for you to pay for and collect when the actual sale was on). I have never seen so many posh women very close to fighting in my entire life......

[jno]

they're starting to use the term here, partly through the influence of online retailers liek Amazon (who have been running a Black Friday all week). But Christmas int he UK starts whenever retailers start advertising it... the switching on of lights (mostly promoting Disney films and suchlike these days) by minor celebs in major shopping streets and malls is one sign. Sleeping outside shops used to be reserved for sales starting on Boxing Day (Dec 26, a public holiday) once the rush was over and stock had to be unloaded; not the sales start well before Christmas... any day now, probably... and go on until it's all sold, which could be next spring...

[RATTER15]

I got thrown out of Harrod's in the 80s for walking through looking for the DIY department to buy a brickies trowel with wet cement falling off my work boots.

They weren't even polite!!

[Quizmonster]

For some reason, Chuck, your "dress code + gun" comment reminded me of the - possibly apocryphal - story of the crusty colonel at the Tanglin Club in Singapore in early February 1942.
Brits there had no idea the Japanese were on their way and, when one of their soldiers appeared with a rifle in the bar, the colonel said in outraged tones to the Chief Steward, "I say, is that chappie a member?"

(Hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving, C.)

[zebo]

What killed me was the number of people fighting to get into Walmart, that's sad indeed, I've seen better street markets.

[TheShakeperian]

The only 'Black Friday' I can recall in the UK was the day we came out of the European Exchange rate mechanism '' The Snake'' it has turned out to be beneficial as we would almost certainly be in the Euro now if we had not got out in time.
The other expression that comes close is 'Mad Friday' the last Friday before Christmas when most workers finish work at lunch time and go on a marathon drinking session with their work mates.
Does the USA have an equivalent to that ? I would be suprised if it does not.