Black Friday is the name given to the Friday following Thanksgiving in the United States. This is the day that has traditionally marked the beginning of the Christmas shopping season, although the name “Black Friday” has only been commonly used for the last three decades. A common explanation of the name comes from the idea that retailers begin to turn a profit at this time of year, going from “being in the red” to “being in the black”. So historically it comes from an association with an accounting term. Black Friday has become one of the biggest retail shopping days of the year. Since the mid-2000s, online retailers in the US have also promoted sales on the Monday following Thanksgiving, termed “Cyber Monday”. This began when many people who were busy or did not find what they were looking for in the sales on Black Friday, would shop online on the Monday following. Like Black Friday, Cyber Monday is often considered the busiest shopping day of the year for online retailers.  So make the most of the generous sales and bargains being offered over this weekend and get some Christmas shopping done or get organized nice and early for Back to School!