For many years, Americans have had a holiday right after Thanksgiving that prompted a lot of buying. It is called Christmas. But it was a whole month away, and allegedly predicated on some non-retail themed historical event, so unto us a new ritual was born, known as Black Friday. It too has history; it's the day when many retailers' accounts move into the black. To mark this miraculous transformation, and to further erase the red ink, there are sales, and people go shopping.